New jobless claims in Georgia fell to 8,035 last week, while the state’s unemployment rate continued its descent to a pre-pandemic level, state officials said Thursday.
It was the third consecutive week that filings were below 10,000, according to the Department of Labor. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate dropped from a pandemic high of 12.5% in April of 2020 to 3.7% in July.
Recent weeks have brought rising concern that the resurgent coronavirus might undercut hiring. Next week, the state will release the latest numbers.
In the 18 months since the start of the pandemic, the state Labor Department has processed more than 5 million unemployment claims and judged more than one-third of them judged to be valid. During that time, more than $23 billion in state and federal benefits has been paid out.
But the number of claims has been steadily declining. In August, the number of claims averaged 10,385 compared to an April average of 33,288, according to the U.S. Employment and Training Administration.
This week, federal government stopped paying enhanced jobless benefits to laid-off workers around the country, including gig workers who lost income because of the pandemic. But the governors of Georgia and a number of other states had already elected three months earlier to end those federal payments to unemployed residents.
Jobless claims, week ending
August 7: 10,783
August 14: 11,157
August 21: 9,750
August 28: 9,849
September 4: 8,035
_______________________________
Average weekly jobless claims, 2021
January: 31,928
February: 28,188
March: 28,436
April: 33,288
May: 25,853
June: 21,553
July: 14,446
August: 10,385
_____________________________________
Weekly jobless claims
Highest, pre-pandemic: 41,522 (Jan. 10, 2009)
Highest, during pandemic: 390,132 (April 4, 2020)
Average, pre-pandemic: 5,548
Average, past four weeks: 9,698
Sources: Georgia Department of Labor, U.S. Employment and Training Administration
___________________________________
About the Author
