ATLANTA – The coronavirus pandemic is saddling Georgia with historic levels of unemployment.
Initial unemployment claims increased by a record 290,068 last month compared to February as the economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak took hold. The total for March was higher than the total for all of last year.
The Georgia Department of Labor processed 319,581 claims just during the week of March 29 through April 4. Counting the previous week’s claims, the state has handled more than 700,000 claimants in two weeks.
The state’s unemployment rate went up by 1.1% last month – also setting a record for such a short period – to reach 4.2%. Unemployment stood at 3.7% in March of last year.
“We are reaching unprecedented claim levels of almost 1 million Georgians filing for unemployment,” state Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler said Thursday. “That is one in every 10 people who are turning to the [labor department] for unemployment assistance.”
March showed a decrease of 77,876 employed Georgians, the largest monthly drop since February 2010. The state’s labor force fell by 22,434, the largest monthly decrease since March 2010.
The sector showing the largest increase in unemployment claims were accommodation and food services, with 132,564 initial claims filed in March. The health care and social assistance sector was next with 37,621 new claims, followed by trade with 23,074.
Despite all the negative numbers, some businesses are hiring. The labor department posted more than 99,632 job listings last month. To view the latest listings, click on employgeorgia.com.
Also on the positive side, the labor department reported it has paid out more than $509 million in state and federal unemployment benefits since the middle of last month, with more than 290,000 Georgians receiving benefits last week alone. That’s almost twice the 149,725 who collected unemployment benefits during all of 2019.