ATLANTA — The Georgia Department of Labor announced that Effingham County’s preliminary unemployment for July was 6.6 percent, up from June’s rate of 6.4 percent. The rate is down from the July 2013 mark of 7.1 percent.

Metro Savannah’s unemployment rate for July was 7.9 percent, up five-tenths of a percentage point from 7.4 percent in June. The rate in July of last year was 8.1 percent.

The July rate increase is primarily due to seasonal factors such as temporary layoffs in educational services. However, most of the laid-off workers have returned to their jobs.

There were 163,100 jobs in Savannah in July, down by 1,900, or 1.2 percent, from June. The losses came in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, education and health services, and state and local government.

However, there was an over-the-year gain of 2,300 jobs, or 1.4 percent, from July 2013. The primary growth was in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and transportation and warehousing.

Also, there were 1,071 new claims for unemployment insurance filed in July, a decrease of 355, or 24.9 percent, from 1,426 in June. Most of the decrease was in transportation and warehousing, accommodations and food services, and administrative and support services. There were 1,418 claims filed in July 2013, down 24.5 percent.

The unemployment rate in the Coastal Georgia region increased to 8.5 percent in July, up five-tenths of a percentage point from 8.0 percent in June. The rate was 8.8 percent in July a year ago.

The July rate increase is primarily due to seasonal factors, such as temporary layoffs in educational services.  However most of the laid-off workers have returned to their jobs.

Also, there were 2,264 new claims for unemployment insurance filed in July, a decrease of 14, or 0.6 percent, from 2,278 in June. Most of the decrease in claims came among workers in warehousing and transportation. There were 3,086 claims filed in July 2013, down 26.6 percent. Metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 6.6 percent, while the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region had the highest at 11.4 percent.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for July was 7.8 percent, up from 7.4 percent in June.

Local area unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.gdol.ga.gov.