State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said today that the preliminary unadjusted unemployment rate in the metro Albany area increased to 10.8 percent in January, up three-tenths of a percentage point from a revised 10.5 percent in December. The jobless rate in the metro Albany area in January 2010 was 11.5 percent.

The rate increased because of layoffs in manufacturing, construction and administrative and support services.

Unemployment rates increased in all areas of the state in January except in metro Warner Robins, where the rate remained steady. Of the 25 local areas, metro Warner Robins had the lowest January jobless rate at 7.8 percent, while the highest rate was in metro Dalton at 13.0 percent.

Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January was 10.4 percent in January, once again hitting the state’s all-time high. The state’s jobless rate was also 10.4 percent in January 2010.

January marked the 40th consecutive month that Georgia has exceeded the national unemployment rate, which is currently 9.0 percent.

Local area unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.dol.state.ga.us/pr/current_data.htm.