During the first nine months of this year, 466,756 initial claims for unemployment insurance have been filed, an increase of 38.8 percent over the 336,286 initial claims filed during the same period last year. The metropolitan areas with the highest percentage of increase in claims are Gainesville, Dalton and Rome. The areas with the smallest increase in claims are Athens, Valdosta and Augusta.
"For the second consecutive month, initial claims have risen by more than 70 percent over the year," State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said. "Georgia is in the midst of a challenging economic environment. The Georgia Department of Labor has shifted to 10-hour work days so that we can more effectively serve job seekers and employers. I want to reaffirm our commitment to do everything we can to assist jobless Georgians who're looking for work."
During the past year, layoffs have come across the board. The manufacturing, construction, trade and services sectors have been especially hard hit. And, the total number of individuals receiving unemployment insurance benefits was up 53 percent over the year, from 57,629 in September 2007 to 88,121 in September 2008.
The 14 metro areas and the increases in their initial claims are available at http://www.dol.state.ga.us/pr/current_data.htm.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2008/10/214112