January layoffs dip after fewer holiday hires
The number of layoffs last month dipped, but Georgia’s jobless are finding it harder than ever to get another job.
An estimated 95,264 workers filed unemployment claims in January, down 6 percent from December. That was also a 21 percent drop from January 2009, when the economy was nose-diving a year earlier.
January is usually a month of high layoffs, and -- in an odd twist -- last month's numbers would have been worse if the economy weren’t struggling, said state Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond: “This past November and December, retailers didn’t hire as many seasonal workers as they usually do, resulting in fewer January layoffs.”
Meanwhile the average length of time it takes for a jobless Georgian to get hired rose to 15.8 weeks, a record, he said.
Almost 500,000 Georgians are jobless and looking for work. Roughly 350,000 of them are receiving either state or extended Federal unemployment benefits.
The state’s official jobless rate in December was 10.3 percent. January’s rate will be announced next week.
-- Michael E. Kanell
About the Author
Michael E. Kanell, the AJC's economics writer, has been reporting on jobs, housing and the economy at the AJC for nearly two decades. He has appeared on television and radio to analyze and report on business and economic developments.
