Georgia unemployment agency furloughs 18 due to federal shutdown

News that Congress may be ready to end the federal government shutdown came too late for 18 Georgia Department of Labor staffers furloughed Monday.

Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said most of his agency’s funding comes from the federal government, and that he warned staffers about the impact Friday.

Butler said 18 staffers who do statistical reporting for the Georgia DOL were furloughed starting Monday. They are the workers who compile and report unemployment data, among other things.

If the shutdown had lasted, Butler said, department staffers whose sole mission is to help veterans get jobs would have been next to be furloughed. Butler said the agency had federal funding to pay those staffers through the end of the month.