Gordon County's initial unemployment rate nearly double in December of November, according to data released today by the Georgia Department of Labor.

Last month, 1,364 unemployed workers in the Gordon County filed for benefits for the first time, an increase of 594 from the 770 from November. That is an increase of 77.1 percent.

However, those numbers show a 35.4 percent decrease from the 2,111 people who filed claims in December 2008.

Dalton, saw an even increase of 34.4 percent over last month, but a bigger annual drop. Its initial claims were down 51.5 percent, from 9,780 in December 2008 to 4,742 in December 2009.

Statewide, 100,896 laid-off workers filed initial claims in December, an increase of 28,598, or 39.6 percent, from 72,298 in November. However, there was a decline of 27,729, or 21.6 percent, from 128,625 claims filed in December 2008, at the depth of the current recession.

Most of the state’s first-time claims were filed in manufacturing, trade, construction, and administrative and support services.

The average length of time jobless Georgia workers drew unemployment benefits in December increased to 15.3 weeks, the longest duration on record. The duration in December 2008 was 11.6 weeks.

The number of jobless workers receiving regular state unemployment benefits decreased 8,945, or 5.7 percent, from 156,719 in December 2008 to 147,774 in December 2009. Another 184,000 received federal Extended Unemployment Compensation.