As the state's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate increased for the first time in almost a year, initial unemployment claims in Bartow County rose 15 percent from May to June, the Georgia Department of Labor announced today.

Last month, Bartow had 70 more initial claims than in May, but that's down nearly 19 percent since June 2011.

Initial claims in Georgia increased 4.5 percent and the state's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate inched to 9 percent from 8.9 percent in May.

“The unemployment rate traditionally inches up in June because new graduates and people hunting summer jobs enter the job market at the same time the private and public schools are laying off for the summer,” State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said in a press release.

Bartow County's preliminary May unemployment rate was 8.9 percent, a slight increase from the revised April rate of 8.8 percent. In May 2011, unemployment was at 9.6 percent.

Bartow has added jobs within the county since the Cartersville-Bartow County Chamber of Commerce launched its bell-ringing campaign last April.

Georgia's jobless rate in June a year ago was 9.9 percent.

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