Pike’s jobless rate at 8.8%

By Sherri EllingtonPike County unemployment remained not only the lowest in the region but held steady at 8.8% during July and June. It was 9.9% in July 2011. Pike and Coweta are the only counties in single-digit joblessness in the 10-county Three Rivers region.In July the work force numbered 8,402 with 7,666 working and 736 seeking work. This compares to June numbers of 8,345 workers, 7,612 with jobs and 733 looking for work. In July 2011 there were 8,297 workers, 7,475 employed and 822 seeking work.In July, initial unemployment claims for Pike were 91, compared to 71 in June and 127 in July 2011. At 20 more people the monthly change was 28.2% and at 36 fewer people the yearly change was 28.3%.In the Three Rivers Region Meriwether County was highest at 12.9%, followed by Upson, 11.6%; Troup, Spalding and Butts, 11.3%; Carroll, 11%; Heard, 10.7%; and Lamar, 10.6%. Remaining below double digits were Coweta, 9.2%; and Pike, 8.8%.The preliminary unemployment rate in the Three Rivers area was unchanged at 10.6% from June to July. The rate was 11.4% in July 2011. Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 9.3% in July, up three-tenths of a percent from 9% in June. The jobless rate was 10% in July a year ago. The number of jobs in the state dropped by 17,900, or five-tenths of a percent, from 3,931,900 in June to 3,914,000 in July. There were 20,600 jobs lost among seasonal workers in public schools but some of that loss was offset because the private sector added 5,600 jobs.