Oconee job picture a mixed bag in January

In the first month of 2015 more people were working in Oconee County, but more people were receiving state benefits for unemployment. On the surface, the Oconee County figures in the state’s job report amount to a non-sequitur. In January 32,426 members of the Oconee job force were gainfully employed. The 2,240 Oconeeans considered unemployed translated to 6.5% of the workforce—-three-tenths of a percentage point higher than December. The state as a whole, however, according to the Department of Employment and Workforce, held steady at 6.6% unemployment, yet the number of people working exceeded two million, a record.