Ga. jobless rate leaps 126 percent
Marietta Daily Journal
04/10/2009

ATLANTA – New jobless claims surged last month, jumping 126 percent from March 2008, the state Labor Department reported on Thursday.

Officials said 96,306 laid-off workers filed first-time claims for state unemployment insurance benefits in March. That suggests the state’s record-high 9.3 percent unemployment rate won’t be going down anytime soon, and could be set to move into the double digits.

Georgia’s jobless rate is above the national average of 8.5 percent.

“We’re still in a very soft job market and the short-term prospects are not looking good,” state Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said Thursday.

The metropolitan areas with the highest percentage of increase in claims were Gainesville, up 249.4 percent; Rome, up 218.4 percent; and Brunswick, up 185.0 percent.

HERE

——————————————————————————–