Sep. 6--Although Georgia's unemployment rate hasn't been posted for August, the rate has been mostly trending upward all year.

The U.S. Department of Labor released its employment situation Friday, but the state and regional employment and unemployment figures will not be released until later this month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site.

The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 6.2 percent in July, up from 5.6 percent in June, according to the Georgia Department of Labor news release. The July rate was the highest recorded since March 1993, and the state rate had topped the national rate for the sixth straight month.

The unemployment rate in metro Macon rose to a preliminary 6.6 percent in July, up from 6.2 percent in June, according to the Georgia Department of Labor. In the metro Warner Robins area the rate rose to a preliminary 5.4 percent in July, up from a revised 5.1 percent in June.

By comparison, the highest unemployment rate in Georgia was in metro Columbus, which was up to a preliminary 7 percent in July -- up from 6.3 in June, the Labor Department reported.

The lowest rate in the state for July was found in the metro Gainesville area, where the rate rose to a preliminary 5.4 percent, up from 5.2 percent in June.

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