Initial Unemployment Claims Rise 40% In Georgia

According to a report released Friday by Georgia’s Department of Labor, 100,000 laid off workers in the state filed initial claims for unemployment benefits in December. This was an increase of almost 40% over November’s initial claims. Initial claims came most heavily from the manufacturing, trade, construction and administrative and support service sectors.

The labor department will host the Georgia Jobs Summit in Atlanta today. The goal of the summit is to develop a strategy to stimulate job creation and hiring in the private sector.

In an interview with ABC News Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said Friday, “Obviously the holiday hiring season was somewhat of a disappointment here in Georgia. Typically the unemployment rate declines as retailer’s ramp up their staff during the Christmas season, but obviously this did not occur in December.”

Georgia now has the third highest personal bankruptcy rate in the nation. Bureau of labor statistics show that in the Atlanta/Marietta metropolitan area alone 117,100 non-farm payroll jobs were lost from November 2008 to November 2009.