Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Southern Georgia’s initial claims spiked in April

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 Southern Georgia, the unemployment rate increased in April to 9.7 percent, an increase of 5 percentage points. A year ago, the rate was 3.2 percent.    

The number of unemployment claims dramatically increased by 413 percent in April due to COVID-19 lay-offs. When compared to last April, claims were up by about 4,679 percent.

The labor force decreased in April by 8,887. The April total was 171,523. That number is down by 5,957 from the total from April 2018.

Southern Georgia ended April with 154,917 employed residents.  The number decreased by 16,965 in April and was down 16,806 as compared to last year.

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.comshowed 1,035 active job postings in Southern Georgia for April.