ATLANTA -- The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) reported today that the preliminary unadjusted unemployment rate in metro Albany rose to 11.8 percent in January, up 1.3 percentage points from a revised 10.5 percent in December. Meanwhile the number of unemployed workers in the area increased to 8,949, up 954 from 7,995 in December.

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 10.4 percent in January, topping the previous record high of 10.3 percent reported in December. This marks the 28th consecutive month that Georgia has exceeded the national seasonally adjusted rate, which was 9.7 percent.

The state’s January jobless rate was up 2.0 percentage points from 8.4 percent at this same time last year. The jobless rate in metro Albany in January 2009 was 8.1 percent.