Initial unemployment claims in Georgia fall 12 percent

<p>Initial unemployment claims in Georgia fell 12 percent last month to 32,540, compared to 37,024 in March, the state Department of Labor said.</p><p>The number of jobless seeking unemployment compensation for the first time dropped 34.5 percent from April 2003, officials said Thursday. During that month, 49,658 filed the claims.</p><p>Nationally, new jobless claims _ a sign of layoffs _ were 331,000 last week, up from 318,000 the week before but still below levels of last summer.</p><p>"Right now, we have about 160,000 unemployed workers in Georgia," Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said. "Real improvement for these workers can only come with significant job creation, but for now, job creation remains slow here in Georgia."</p><p>The state's current unemployment rate is about 3.6 percent, its pre-recession level.</p><p>Initial unemployment claims in April, compared with March and April 2003, in the state's seven metropolitan areas were:</p><p>_ Albany, 410, down from 773 in March and 1,024 in April 2003.</p><p>_ Athens, 419, down from 424 and 571.</p><p>_ Atlanta, 13,889, down from 15,073 and 20,504.</p><p>_ Augusta, 1,033, down from 1,049 and 1,468.</p><p>_ Columbus, 846, down from 1,680 and 1,447.</p><p>_ Macon, 1,078, down from 1,164 and 1,788.</p><p>_ Savannah, 1033, up from 847 in March but down from 1,093 in April 2003.</p>

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