The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that Metro Atlanta’s unemployment rate for July was 8.0 percent, up five-tenths of a percentage point from 7.5 percent in June. The rate in July of last year was 8.3 percent.

The July rate increase is primarily due to seasonal factors, such as temporary layoffs in educational services and manufacturing. However, most of the laid-off workers have returned to their jobs.

There were 2,461,200 jobs in Atlanta in July, down by 2,700, or 0.1 percent, from June. Most of the loss came in local government. However, Metro Atlanta’s private sector employers created 8,900 jobs in July, with the growth coming mostly in professional and business services, 2,900; trade, transportation and warehousing, 2,700; financial activities and information services, 1,400 each; leisure and hospitality, 700; manufacturing, 400; and construction, 100.

And, there was an over-the-year gain of 63,900 jobs, or 2.7 percent, from July 2013, the largest July-to-July job growth in nine years. The primary growth was in professional and business services, 20,400; trade, transportation and warehousing, 15,000; leisure and hospitality, 12,200; manufacturing, 4,300; construction and financial services, 4,100 each; information services, 3,300; education and health services, 2,400. The federal government lost 400 jobs.

Also, there were 19,271 new claims for unemployment insurance filed in July, an increase of 1,605, or 9.1 percent, from 17,666 in June. Most of the increase was due to temporary layoffs in manufacturing, administrative services, and retail trade. There were 23,700 claims filed in July 2013, down 18.7 percent.

Metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 6.6 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 11.4 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for July was 7.8 percent, up from 7.4 percent in June.