Northwest Georgia Reaches All-Time High Unemployment Rate in April

Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Northwest Georgia’s unemployment rate spiked in April, reaching an all-time high.

Due to the effects of COVID-19, all regions and counties throughout the state saw a dramatic incline in initial claims along with the unemployment rate.

“Although we are seeing all-time high unemployment rates across a majority of the state, we are continuing to work with employers on effective strategies to get Georgians back to work in both a safe and economically efficient way,” said Butler.

In Northwest Georgia, the unemployment rate increased in April to 13.3 percent, an increase of 9 percentage points. A year ago, the rate was 3.1 percent.

The number of unemployment claims dramatically increased by 378 percent in April due to COVID-19 lay-offs. When compared to last April, claims were up by about 3,518 percent.

The labor force decreased in April by 13,312. The April total was 411,267. That number is down by 6,075 from the total from April 2018.

Northwest Georgia ended April with 356,570 employed residents.  The number decreased by 49,872 in April and was down 47,702 as compared to last year.

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 2,651 active job postings in Northwest Georgia for April.