Officials say a manufacturer of disposable baby diapers is moving into a former South Carolina textile plant, creating 260 jobs in a rural county suffering from high unemployment.

The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) reported Thursday that the preliminary unadjusted unemployment rate in the metro Augusta area declined to 9.5 percent in August, down six-tenths of one percentage point from a revised 10.1 percent in July. The reduction in the rate is primarily due to work force shrinkage.

The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) reported Thursday that the preliminary unadjusted unemployment rate in the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) declined to 10.3 percent in August, down seven-tenths of a percentage point from a revised 11.0 percent in July. The reduction in the rate is primarily due to work force shrinkage.

South Carolina’s unemployment rate dropped for the second month in a row in August, decreasing to 11.5 percent. The Employment Security Commission said Friday it had also revised the state’s July rate to 11.7 percent. It had been 11.8 percent, the first decline in more than a year and a half.

Forty-two states lost jobs last month, up from 29 in July, with the biggest payroll cuts coming in Texas, Michigan, Georgia and Ohio.

Unemployment numbers went down in Georgia last month, however slightly. The Georgia Department of Labor reported Thursday that the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined to 10.2 percent in August from a revised 10.3 percent in July.

Georgia’s labor commissioner says 69,869 laid-off workers filed first-time claims for state unemployment insurance benefits in August.

Initial unemployment benefit claims expected Friday could shed light on whether the recession is loosening its grip in Georgia. Georgia Department of Labor officials will release data reflecting the number of laid-off workers who filed first-time claims for state unemployment insurance benefits in August.

White House economists say the Obama administration’s recovery efforts have saved or created more than a million jobs. President Barack Obama has promised that his $787 billion stimulus plan will create or save 3.5 million jobs by the end of next year. In its first report to Congress, the Council on Economic Advisers says the number is more than 1 million, and the stimulus has been the driving force.

With the unemployment rate now at 9.7 percent, the White House is continuing to predict that it will top 10 percent before the recovery sets in.

New jobless claims fell slightly last week while the number of people receiving unemployment benefits rose, a sign the job market’s recovery will be long and bumpy.

Consumer spending edged up in July with help from the popular Cash for Clunkers program, but household incomes, the fuel for future spending increases, were flat.

The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) reported Friday that the preliminary unadjusted unemployment rate in the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) rose to 11.1 percent in July, up four-tenths of one percentage point from a revised 10.7 percent in June.

The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) reported Friday that the preliminary unadjusted unemployment rate in the metro Augusta area was unchanged at 10.2 percent from June to July.

The unemployment rate in South Carolina dropped to 11.8% in July.