Georgia’s jobless rate has returned to double-digits. The 10-percent mark for August is up a tenth of a point from July’s 9.9 percent.

State labor officials say the rise is primarily due to layoffs in retail trade and construction.

There is a glimmer of good news inside the numbers. The amount of payroll jobs went up by nearly 18,000 over a month’s time. But still, the number of overall jobs is down over the past year. There were 3,847,000 payroll jobs in August 2009—more than 26,000 than currently.

"Georgia's job market remains stagnant," said State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond. "Many employers are reluctant to hire because of the costs and risks associated with bringing on new employees. To help alleviate their concerns, we are expanding our Georgia Work$ training initiative. Effective Monday, Sept. 20, all jobless Georgians, not just unemployment insurance claimants, will be eligible to receive six weeks of on-the-job training from Georgia employers.”

Tags: Georgia, unemployment, double-digits, jobless rate, state labor officials, State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond