State Unemployment Rate Drops as Fewer File Claims

More jobs and fewer layoffs in most metro Atlanta counties helped push the state's unemployment rate down to 8.4 percent, it's lowest since December 2008.

The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dipped to 8.4 percent in March, the lowest rate since December 2008. The rate declined from 8.6 percent in February because of an increase in the number of jobs and fewer new layoffs. The rate was down from 9.1 percent in March a year ago. “Georgia employers created 23,700 jobs last month, which is one of the best job growth numbers we’ve had in March for almost a decade,” said State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. “The growth was in several industries, led by leisure and hospitality and professional and business services.” Additional growth came in trade, transportation and warehousing, construction and local government. The March growth …

• Videos (1)

Forsyth County's Unemployment Rate Continues to Drop

The county's jobless rate is down three-tenths of a percentage point from 6.7 percent in January.

The unemployment rate in Forsyth County declines to 6.4 percent in February down three-tenths of a percentage point from 6.7 percent in January, according to the Georgia Department of Labor calculates statistics. Forsyth County had 6,088 people who are counted as jobless in February, 270 fewer than in January. The number of people employed dropped, but so did the labor force, down 663 to 94,674 workers. A year ago Forsyth's jobless rate was 7.2 percent. The workforce was smaller by 1,233 people. County Rate Forsyth 6.4% Cherokee 6.9% Hall 6.9% Fulton 8.9% The Georgia Mountains region’s unemployment rate declined to 7.5 percent in February, down five-tenths of a percentage point from 8.0 percent in January. The rate was 8.4 percent in …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Unemployment Claims Drop 24% in Forsyth County

February's jobless claims in Forsyth County were 111 fewer than in January, according to the Georgia Department of Labor, following a statewide trend.

Local unemployment rate figures won't be released for another week, but the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dipped to 8.6 percent in February, the lowest rate since January 2009, according to the Georgia Department of Labor. The rate was down one-tenth of a percentage point from 8.7 percent in January and six-tenths of a percentage point from 9.2 percent in February a year ago, the department announced in a release today. Seasonal employment ended in January, which may account for the much larger number of initial claims compared to February's drop by 34 percent, down to 3,310 first-time claims. It's not as start a difference compared to a year ago, with a 9 percent drop from year to year. Forsyth County's Jobless Rate Remains Low at…

• Photos (1)
• Videos (1)

Forsyth County's Jobless Rate Remains Low at 6.7%

The county's unemployment rate is almost as low as nearby Alpharetta's.

Forsyth County's unemployment rate of 6.7 percent in January was only beaten by five other counties, and all of them have labor forces that are just a fraction the size. A combination of a larger labor force and more people losing jobs increased Forsyth's preliminary unemployment rate by two tenths of a percent, compared to the final December 2012 rate of 6.5 percent. A year ago the unemployment rate was even higher at 7.1 percent. Forsyth had 95,383 people in the labor force in January, a decrease of 157 workers. The number of unemployed increased by 200 people. This includes new workers to the labor force and other workers who filed for unemployment claims. County Rate Forsyth 6.7% Cherokee 7.2% Paulding 8.2% Douglas 9.2% Bartow 9.3% How…

• Photos (2)
• Videos (1)

GA Unemployment Benefits to be Cut Due to Sequester

GDOL has been instructed to reduce Extended Unemployment Benefits by 10.7 percent, effective March 31. As of Dec. 2012, there were 6,033 unemployed people in the Forsyth County area.

The Georgia Department of Labor sent out a press release Monday informing the public that thousands of jobless workers in Georgia receiving federal Extended Unemployment Compensation (EUC) can expect a cut in those benefits effective from March 31. Sequestration is the reason for the cuts, according to the release. EUC is a federally funded benefit for long-term unemployed workers who have exhausted regular state unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. According to the Department of Labor, Forsyth County's unemployment rate jumped to 6.5 percent in December, the most recent month for which figures are available, an increase from November's 6.1 percent number. That equates to 6,033 unemployed people in the Forsyth County area. According to …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Forsyth County Jobless Rate Far Below State Average

Only tiny Harris County had a lower unemployment rate out Georgia's 159 counties, according to the state Department of Labor.

Forsyth County's unemployment rate of 6.5 percent in December 2012 was only beaten by tiny Harris County's 6.2 percent, which has 76,000 fewer people in the labor force. A combination of a larger labor force and more people losing jobs increased Forsyth's preliminary unemployment rate by fourth tenths of a percent, compared to the final November 2011 rate of 6.1 percent. A year ago the unemployment rate was even higher at 6.8 percent. Forsyth had 93,192 people in the labor force last month, an increase of 135 workers. The number of unemployed increased by 326. This includes new workers to the labor force and other workers who filed for unemployment claims. County            Rate Forsyth            6.5% Cherokee          6.9 Paulding…

• Photos (1)

Some Georgians Will Lose Unemployment Benefits

Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits to “trigger off” Saturday for some Georgians.

Editor's Note: The following press release was submitted by the Georgia Department of Labor. The Georgia Department of Labor announced Wednesday that some recipients of federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) in Georgia will lose extended unemployment benefits after Saturday, Jan. 12. EUC was established in 2008 to aid the long-term unemployed. Georgia will “trigger off” EUC’s Tier 4 unemployment insurance program during the week ending Jan. 12 because the state’s jobless rate has declined in the last three months, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  Georgia’s jobless rate was 9.0 percent in September, but declined to 8.7 percent in October and 8.5 percent in November. …

• Photos (1)

Forsyth County's Jobless Rate Falls Again

Forsyth County recorded a 6.1 percent jobless rate in November.

Forsyth County's preliminary unemployment rate for November fell slightly to 6.1 percent, according to figures released by the Georgia Department of Labor. The rate is down from the October rate of 6.2 percent and 6.7 percent in November 2011. Forsyth's labor force rose to 92,984 last month from 92,731 in October. November's labor force is also higher than November 2011 figure of 91,076. The preliminary unemployment rate in the Georgia Mountains region, which Forsyth County is part of, declined to 7.1 percent in November, down one-tenth of a percentage point from 7.2 percent in October. The rate was 7.8 percent in November 2011. The rate declined because of fewer new layoffs, represented by first-time claims for unemployment insurance …

• Documents (2)

A Drop in Georgia's Unemployment Rate

Georgia’s unemployment rate declined to 8.5 percent in November.

Forsyth's October Jobless Rate One of Lowest in Georgia

The county recorded a 6.2 percent jobless rate in October, down one-tenth of a percentage point from September.

Forsyth County's 6.2 percent jobless rate in October 2012 was one of the lowest in Georgia. That's lower than Clarke County's 6.5 percent or the 6.6 percent jobless rate in Cherokee and Hall counties. Only the city of Alpharetta had a lower jobless rate of 6.1 percent in the metro Atlanta area in October. Forsyth's jobless rate dropped one-tenth of a percentage point from September to October. It's also considerably lower than the 7.1 percent from a year ago. There were 6,482 people unemployed in October 2011, and 5,775 workers unemployed in October 2012. The Forsyth labor force grew in a year, adding 1,894 workers to create a labor force of 92,712. The addition of almost 20,000 jobs helped drop metro Atlanta's preliminary unemployment …

• Photos (1)
• Documents (1)