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VALDOSTA — Slightly more people filed for unemployment benefits in metro Valdosta in July 2017 than in July 2016, according to data from the Georgia Department of Labor.

In July 2017, 313 claims were filed for initial unemployment claims, up 7.1 percent from the same month in 2016, according to labor department numbers released Sunday. A year earlier, 303 people filed claims in July 2016.

In that same time frame, metro Valdosta gained 500 jobs in July 2017, a 0.7 percent increase from the same month a year before, rising from 55,600 jobs to 56,100, the labor department said. Metro Valdosta comprises all of Lowndes, Brooks, Echols and Lanier counties.

From June to July, Georgia lost 14,100 jobs, a 0.3 percent decline, which decreased the total number of jobs to 4,479,800. The average June-to-July job increase for the past three years was 10,600, according to the labor department.

Georgia’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate decreased for the sixth consecutive month to 4.7 percent in July, the lowest it has been in over a decade, the labor department said.

The rate is down one-tenth of a percentage point from 4.8 percent in June. In July 2016, the rate was 5.3 percent.

Statewide unemployment claims were up slightly by 2,787, or 10.9 percent, to 28,425, according to the labor department. Claims were up due to seasonal losses. However, over the year, unemployment claims were down by 7,214, or 20.2 percent, from 35,639 in July 2016.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.