Georgia Unemployment Claims Spike

The Georgia Department of Labor reports that 59,090 laid-off workers filed first-time unemployment claims in August. That’s a jump of 72 percent from August of 2007.

State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said the jump is the largest yearly increase since October 2001 when the nation’s economy reeled in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Layoffs have come across-the-board in manufacturing, construction, trade and services. And, the total number of Georgians receiving unemployment insurance benefits is up 39 percent over the year, from 57,704 in August of 2007 to 80,150 in August of 2008.

But it’s not all bad news. From July to August, the initial unemployment claims in Georgia declined from 59,165, a drop of one-tenth of one percent.