The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that Metro Athens’ unemployment rate for December was 4.9 percent, unchanged from November. The rate in December 2013 was 5.2 percent.

While the unemployment rate was unchanged in December, Metro Athens added 100 new jobs, pushing the total to 92,500, up 0.1 percent, from 92,400 in November. Most of the growth came in retail trade, transportation and warehousing.

And, there was an over-the-year gain of 800 jobs, or 0.9 percent, from 91,700 in December 2013.  Most of the job growth came in retail trade, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and state government.

Also, there were 617 new claims for unemployment insurance filed in December, an increase of 293, or 90.4 percent, from 324 in November. Most of the increase in claims was because of seasonal temporary layoffs in administrative and support services, manufacturing and construction, wholesale and retail trade, and accommodations and food services. Over the year, claims were down by 570, or 48 percent, from 1,187 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.