ATLANTA- Georgia’s unemployment rate skyrocketed last month to a record-high 11.9 percent, the state Department of Labor reported Thursday. Coronavirus- induced joblessness rose by 7.3 percent during April alone, sending unemployment well past the previous record of 10.6 percent set at the hight of the Great Recession in December 2010.
» However, the cause of this high unemployment rate differs greatly from that of the previous record» Georgia Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler said. » I have no doubt that will recover just as quickly and get back to our record lows once again».
But for now, Georgia’s job outlook is not a pretty picture. The huge jump in unemployment is being reflected in unprecedented numbers of initial unemployment claims, which rose by 333 percent last month to reach a total of 1.35 million.
The monthly total of initial claims filed in April was higher than the number for each of the last four years combined.
