Unemployment Rates Continue at Record Levels
Friday, March 27, 2009 | SowegaLive According to the Georgia Department of Labor, the unemployment rate in the Southwest Georgia area rose to a preliminary unadjusted rate of 9.3 percent in February, up 3.9 percentage points over the past year. The jobless rate in the Southwest Georgia area rose eight-tenths of a percentage point from a revised 8.5 percent in January. Decatur County unemployment rose to 12.7% in February, up 1 and 1/2 percent according to the DOL's website. An additonal 197 persons joined the ranks of the jobless in Decatur County in the past month.
“The latest area unemployment rates reflect the seriousness of the recession in Georgia,” said State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond. "In 87 of our state’s 159 counties, unemployment rates have reached double-digit proportions, with the highest being in Jenkins County at 21.3 percent. I expect the statewide unemployment rate to hit double-digits before the recession ends."
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate also rose to 9.3 percent in February, making for the the second consecutive month of record high unemployment in Georgia. The previous high was a revised 8.5 percent in January.
At present, 445,498 unemployed Georgians are looking for work, an increase of 69.2 percent over the year. Of that number, 159,359, or 35.8 percent, are receiving unemployment insurance benefits.
| SW GA Counties |
Unemployment Rates | ||||||||||
| Feb | Jan 09 | Dec | Nov | Oct | Sept | Aug | July | June | May | April | |
| Thomas | 8.6% | 7.7% | 6.8% | 6.3% | 6.4% | 6.3% | 5.9% | 5.8% | 5.6% | 5.0% | 4.4% |
| Baker | 8.6% | 8.0% | 7.2% | 7.2% | 6.5% | 6.9% | 6.9% | 6.0% | 6.1% | 5.6% | 4.9% |
| Miller | 8.9% | 7.2% | 6.4% | 7.1% | 4.9% | 4.6% | 5.5% | 5.0% | 5.0% | 4.6% | 5.2% |
| Colquitt | 9.0% | 8.1% | 7.3% | 6.8% | 7.8% | 6.4% | 6.4% | 6.5% | 5.9% | 5.4% | 4.9% |
| Mitchell | 9.2% | 8.7% | 8.0% | 7.4% | 7.2% | 7.2% | 7.6% | 7.0% | 6.9% | 6.3% | 5.7% |
| Grady | 9.6% | 9.3% | 7.5% | 6.9% | 6.8% | 6.5% | 6.0% | 6.6% | 5.6% | 5.4% | 4.6% |
| Early | 11.0% | 8.7% | 8.0% | 7.5% | 7.8% | 7.5% | 7.6% | 7.0% | 6.4% | 6.0% | 5.8% |
| Seminole | 11.6% | 9.8% | 8.9% | 8.9% | 7.9% | 8.0% | 7.7% | 8.3% | 7.8% | 7.5% | 6.9% |
| Decatur | 12.7% | 11.2% | 10.1% | 10.4% | 8.2% | 8.0% | 7.9% | 7.8% | 7.3% | 7.0% | 7.7% |
Reader Comments