Cobb Jobless Rate Grows in May

The Cobb unemployment rate that showed signs of dipping a month ago has jumped back up to 2010 levels. 

According to figures released Wednesday by the Georgia Department of Labor, the Cobb jobless rate was 9.2 percent in May, the same figure for May 2010.

A total of 33,777 Cobb citizens were out of work last month, up from 32,913, or 9.0 percent, in April, according to the statistics (page 6 of the accompanying PDF).

As high as those numbers are, they represent some the lowest levels of the jobless in Georgia. Cobb is just one of five metro Atlanta counties with an unemployment rate of under 9.8 percent, which is the current statewide average. 

The figures also showed a metro Atlanta area unemployment rate of 9.7 percent, up from 9.6 percent in April. 

Jobless rates in municipalities fared no better, with the city of Marietta experiencing a big jump from 9.1 percent in preliminary April figures to 9.6 in May. 

In nearby Cherokee County, the unemployment rate held steady at 8.3 percent in one of the lowest figures in all of Georgia. Fulton's jobless rate is 10.1 percent, up from 10 percent, while Paulding County's unemployment rate is an even 10 percent, up from 9.8 percent in April. 

Bartow's jobless rate is 9.4 percent, down from 9.5 percent. 

For more resources regarding job searches, layoffs and obtaining unemployment benefits, contact the DOL's homepage. 

The Cobb DOL office is located at 465 Big Shanty Road, Marietta; phone 770-528-6100.