The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that Metro Savannah’s unemployment rate for December was 6.2 percent, up one-tenth of a percentage point from 6.1 percent in November. The rate in December 2013 was 6.6 percent.

The rate rose in December as the number of jobs in Metro Savannah declined to 166,100, down by 1,400 from 167,500 in November. Most of the job loss came in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and education and health services.

However, there was an over-the-year gain of 4,400 jobs, or 2.7 percent, from 161,700 in December 2013. Most of the job growth came in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, transportation and warehousing, education and health services, and mining, logging and construction.

Also, there were 1,736 new claims for unemployment insurance filed in December, an increase of 889, or 105 percent, from 847 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 84, or 4.6 percent, from 1,820 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.