The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that Metro Atlanta’s unemployment rate for June was 7.6 percent, up four-tenths of a percentage point from 7.2 percent in May. The rate in June of last year was 8.6 percent.

The rate increased because of seasonal factors, such as the summer job loss among non-contract school workers, temporary layoffs in manufacturing, and a rise in the labor force as graduates and students entered the job market.

There were 2,460,900 jobs in Atlanta in June, down by 4,000, or 0.2 percent, from May. Virtually all of the loss came in public and private educational services, along with social assistance, which includes pre-school and daycare centers.

However, there was an over-the-year gain of 58,300 jobs, or 2.4 percent, from June 2013. The primary growth was in professional and business services, 16,700; trade, transportation and warehousing, 15,800; leisure and hospitality, 11,800; construction, 5,600; manufacturing, 3,800; financial services, 3,300; information services, 2,600; and education and health services, 2,000. Government lost 900 jobs.

Also, there were 17,666 new claims for unemployment insurance filed in June, an increase of 2,085, or 13.4 percent, from 15,581 in May. Of the increase, 667 claims were in manufacturing.

The labor force increased by 4,174 to 2,753,499 from 2,749,325 in May.

Metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 6.3 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 10.4 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for June was 7.4 percent, up from 7.2 percent in May. The rate was 8.4 percent in May a year ago.

Local area unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.gdol.ga.gov.