Georgia unemployment rate rose in May
June 18, 2009 at 10:40 am by Thomas Wheatley in News
Downtown Atlanta job fair
Good morning! The most recent unemployment numbers are in and they’re terrible.
Georgia’s unemployment rate rose to a record high of 9.7 percent in May, the Georgia Department of Labor says, up from 9.2 percent the previous month. May was the 19th consecutive month the state’s unemployment rate hovered above the national average.
“Georgia’s record unemployment rate of 9.7 percent is a stark reminder that the road to economic recovery will be long and difficult,” state Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said in a press release.
According to the department, nearly 463,883 unemployed Georgians were looking for work in May, an increase of 62 percent from the same time last year. Of that number, 157,544 are receiving state unemployment insurance benefits. Approximately another 90,000 are receiving federal extended benefits.
The state saw a loss of 217,000 jobs in May. Of that number, 136,800 jobs were in Metro Atlanta. Dalton continues to be battered by the economy, posting the highest percentage loss in jobs. Atlanta Magazine’s Thomas Lake recently wrote an excellent piece about the North Georgia carpet town’s woes that’s worth a read.
(Photo by Joeff Davis)
June 18th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
there is a cool interactive unemployment level heat map showing the various unemployment rates for the entire state of Georgia at:
http://www.localetrends.com/st/ga_georgia_home.php?MAP_TYPE=curr_ue