Unemployment in metro Atlanta has risen from November to December, the Georgia Department of Labor reports.

The rate was a flat 8 percent in November, but has jumped to 8.4 percent in December.

In the city of East Point, which has a high enough population for the department to report its employment statistics, unemployment has also risen.

The labor force decreased by two, from 15,819 in November to 15,817 in December. This is an overall increase from December 2011, during which the labor force was 15,605.

Employment has dropped from November’s 13,828 to December’s 13,798. The number of those unemployed increased from 1,991 to 2,019.

The unemployment rate jumped from 12.6 percent in November to 12.8 percent in December.

In December 2011, 13,495 were employed and 2,110 were unemployed for a 13.5 percent unemployment rate.

Other municipalities in Fulton County had much lower unemployment rates — lower than the state’s 8.5 percent and lower still than the national rate of 7.7 percent.

Alpharetta, which has a labor force of more than 30,000, has an unemployment rate of 6.4 percent, although it rose from November’s 5.9 percent. It is still lower than the December 2011 rate of 6.6 percent.

In Sandy Springs, where the labor force is 56,877, unemployment is 6.4 percent, a jump from November’s 6.1 percent. And in Roswell, which has a labor force of nearly 50,000, unemployment is 6.4 percent, also a jump from a 6.1 percent rate in November.

Douglasville, a municipality which has a work force size similar to East Point, has an unemployment rate of 10.3 percent, which is higher than November’s 9.2 percent. In December 2011, Douglasville’s unemployment rate was 10.8 percent.

According to a Georgia Department of Labor press release, the increase from November to December is attributed to an increase in initial claims for unemployment insurance and an increase in the labor force.

One hundred and fifteen new claims for unemployment benefits were made in the industries of construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing and accommodations and food services.

Labor force in metro Atlanta increased by 6,174, from 2.74 million to 2.755 million in December.