Unemployment insurance claims up

ATLANTA - First time unemployment insurance claims were up in Gainesville last month, as well as statewide.

Statewide, they were up 21.3 percent, according to the Georgia Labor Department.

Here in Gainesville, the increase was 13.8 percent.

According to this report, the increase in claims came across-the-board in manufacturing, construction, trade and services.

Initial claims, considered to be a good barometer of economic activity because they measure newly unemployed workers, rose by 52.7 percent over the year, up from 33,784 in April 2007.

Also, the total number of individuals receiving unemployment insurance benefits is up 51 percent over the year, from 53,680 in April 2007 to 80,830 in April 2008.

The 14 metro areas of the state and the changes in their initial claims from March to April are as follows:

- Albany, up 148, or 23.1 percent, from 640 to 788.
- Athens, down 64, or 10.1 percent, from 634 to 570.
- Atlanta, up 2,741, or 15.8 percent, from 17,402 to 20,143.
- Augusta, down four, or three-tenths of one percent, from 1,164 to 1,160.
- Brunswick, up 128, or 40.1 percent, from 319 to 447.
- Columbus, up 156, or 25.7 percent, from 608 to 764.
- Dalton, up 714, or 31.1 percent, from 2,295 to 3,009.
- Gainesville, up 81, or 13.8 percent, from 585 to 666.
- Hinesville, up nine, or 6.3 percent, from 142 to 151.
- Macon, up 442, or 50.8 percent, from 870 to 1,312.
- Rome, up eight, or one percent, from 839 to 847.
- Savannah, up 382, or 43 percent, from 889 to 1,271.
- Valdosta, down 157, or 20.4 percent, from 769 to 612.
- Warner Robins, up 179, or 55.8 percent, from 321 to 500.

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On the Net: Georgia Dept. of Labor. htpp://www.dol.state.ga.us