Jenkins County recorded the highest unemployment rate in February in the state at 21.3 percent, while Oconee County was the lowest at 6 percent.

The Department of Labor said that 445,498 Georgians are looking for work, an increase of 69.2 percent over the year.

“The latest local unemployment rates reflect the severity of the ongoing recession in Georgia,” Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said. “In 87 of our state’s 159 counties, double-digit unemployment is a sobering reality. A rising tide of joblessness is spreading across our state.”