The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that Metro Atlanta’s unemployment rate for December was 6.4 percent, unchanged from November. The rate in December 2013 was 6.8 percent.

While the rate was unchanged in December, the number of jobs in Metro Atlanta increased to 2,514,000, up by 5,500, or 0.2 percent, from 2,508,500 in November. Over the previous three years, Metro Atlanta has lost an average of 900 jobs from November to December. In December, retail trade, warehousing and transportation, industries associated with holiday hiring, accounted for 5,100 of the job increase.

And, there was an over-the-year gain of 64,700 jobs, or 2.6 percent, from 2,449,300 in December 2013, the largest December-to-December job growth since 2006. In December, 95 percent of the job growth, or 61,700 jobs, came in the private sector. Most of the job growth came in trade, transportation and warehousing, 22,500; professional and business services, 15,700; leisure and hospitality, 8,900; financial services, 5,100; manufacturing, 3,300; education and health services, 3,200; government, 3,000; construction, 1,900; and information services, 1,400.

Also, there were 21,266 new claims for unemployment insurance filed in December, an increase of 7,810, or 58 percent, from 13,456 in November. Most of the increase in claims was because of seasonal temporary layoffs in administrative and support services, accommodations and food services, and manufacturing and construction. Over the year, claims were down by 2,227, or 9.5 percent, from 23,493 filed in December 2013.

Metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.9 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 8.8 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for December was 6.9 percent, down from 7.2 percent in November. It was 7.4 percent in December 2013.

A national leader in job growth for the past two years, Georgia has been in the top 10 states for job creation every month since October 2012. That trend continued in December as the state added 108,200 new jobs, for a 2.7 percent growth rate since December 2013. That pushed the state’s job total to 4,196,400, the highest level since 4,202,100 in December 2007.