Unemployment in Spalding County was down to 10.8 percent for the month of May.

At 10.8 percent, Spalding County’s unemployment rate is down 0.2 percent from April’s 11 percent and down 1.7 percent from May 2011. This rate includes increases in the labor force and number of people employed as well as a decrease in the number of unemployed from both the previous month and last year. For May, Spalding County has an estimated labor force of 28,953 of persons 16 and older, with 25,821 employed and 3,132 unemployed.

Spalding County’s unemployment rate, at 10.8 percent remains the highest in the both the 28-county Atlanta Metro Service Area and the 10-county Three Rivers Regional Commission, but it shares that distinction with adjacent counties Upson in Three Rivers and Clayton in the Atlanta MSA.

For May, the most recent month available for statistics from the Georgia Department of Labor, the national unemployment rate was 7.9 percent and 8.9 percent in the state of Georgia. In the Atlanta MSA, May unemployment is 8.6 percent and 9.5 in Three Rivers. All of these numbers are not seasonally adjusted.

The lowest unemployment rate for May, of Georgia’s 159 counties was 5.5 percent in Oconee County, with the highest at 15.7 percent in Warren County. Of the 14 metro service areas, the lowest unemployment was 7.4 percent in the Warner Robins MSA, while the highest was 11.4 percent in the Dalton MSA. Of the 12 regional commissions, the highest unemployment rate for May was 10.8 in Heart of Georgia Altamaha, with the lowest at 7.5 percent in Georgia Mountains.

The lowest unemployment rate in the Three Rivers region was 8.1 percent in Coweta County, followed by 8.2 percent in Pike County, 9.4 percent in Heard County, 9.7 in Carroll and Troup counties, 9.8 percent in Meriwether County, 9.9 percent in Lmar County, 10.3 percent in Butts County, Of other contiguous counties, the lowest unemployment rate is 7.8 percent in Fayette and 8.6 percent in Henry.