ATLANTA – Unemployed Georgians will soon begin receiving enhanced federal unemployment benefits that were cut off at the end of last month when the program expired, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday.
The $300 weekly supplements will come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the Lost Wages Assistance Program, a new grant initiative President Donald Trump announced after Democrats and Republicans in Congress couldn’t reach agreement on a new coronavirus relief package.
Democrats pushed to renew the unemployment benefits program at the full $600 per week jobless Americans were receiving before the program expired. Republicans sought a lesser amount after some business owners complained they were having a hard time getting their unemployed workers to return because they were receiving more money from unemployment.
“This news is truly life-changing for hardworking Georgians in every part of our state,” Kemp said. “We deeply appreciate the Trump administration’s leadership to help us provide timely unemployment assistance to families weathering the economic impact of this pandemic.”
Trump approved up to $44 billion from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund early this month to provide financial assistance to Americans who have lost wages due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The benefit will be limited to three weeks, with the availability of additional benefits depending on the availability of remaining FEMA funds. Critics of the president’s plan have argued the money should not be taken from FEMA at the height of hurricane season.
States will be required to request additional disbursements weekly after the introductory three-week period of benefits are distributed.
“The Georgia Department of Labor will deliver a system meeting the new FEMA guidelines to process these weekly supplements as quickly as possible,” state Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler said. “We will continue to work with the U.S. Department of Labor, FEMA, and Governor Kemp’s office to provide financial support for Georgians during this pandemic.”
The labor department anticipates programming to begin this week and implementation to be completed within three to four weeks.
Eligibility for the new program is based upon an individual’s weekly benefit determination – an amount calculated by a claimant’s reported wages. Individuals must have received a weekly benefit of at least $100 to be eligible.
Also, the recipient must be unemployed or partially unemployed due to disruptions caused by COVID-19 pandemic.
Individuals do not need to call or apply separately for this benefit. Information on the new program can be found on the agency’s web page at www.gdol.ga.us.
ATLANTA – One of the unsuccessful candidates for the Democratic nomination in Georgia’s 7th Congressional District has been named president of a political action committee representing the state’s Muslim Americans.
Nabilah Islam, who finished third to Democratic nominee Carolyn Bourdeaux in the June 9 primary in the 7th District, will serve as president of I-PAC Georgia.
“Georgia’s Muslim community is a reflection of the beauty and diversity of America’s Muslim communities,” Islam said Monday. “I am thrilled to lead I-PAC Georgia to ensure Georgian Muslims have a seat at the legislative table.”
I-PAC has enjoyed significant success in its candidate endorsements, including an 80% win rate in 2018.
The organization recently partnered with EmgageUSA, a Washington, D.C.-based national organization that seeks to increase Muslim American civic engagement.
Islam ran in a crowded primary field for the Democratic nomination to seek a suburban Atlanta congressional seat being vacated by Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall of Lawrenceville.
Bourdeaux, who ran a close race against Woodall two years ago, won the Democratic primary in June by a large margin over state Rep. Brenda Lopez Romero, D-Norcross, and Islam.
Bourdeaux will oppose Rich McCormick, who won the Republican primary, in November.
The 7th Congressional District covers large portions of Gwinnett and Forsyth counties.
ATLANTA – A new partnership between the state agencies in charge of higher education and K-12 will expand the University System of Georgia’s fintech curriculum into high schools.
The new program will build on the success of the Georgia FinTech Academy, which has provided at least one fintech course to more than 1,900 college students at 23 of the university system’s 26 institutions since it was launched two years ago.
Those college courses will now be available to students attending Georgia’s 481 public high schools, allowing them to earn college credit and credentials valued by employers in a fast-growing industry.
“Fintech is a high-demand career field, and we are committed to preparing the state’s workforce to meet that demand,” said Tristan Denley, the university system’s executive vice chancellor for academic affairs.
Georgia is a global financial technology and payments hub, so much so it is home to America’s payments processing “Transaction Alley.” In fact, 70% of all U.S. financial transactions pass through Georgia companies each year.
The new partnership between the university system, the Georgia Department of Education and the American Transaction Processors Coalition is aimed at maintaining that momentum.
“Offering an on-ramp at the high school level makes this a first-of-its-kind initiative that can potentially inspire similar programs across the country to feed our growing industry’s workforce demand,” said West Richards, the coalition’s executive director.
The high-school fintech program will include three courses modeled after those offered by the Georgia FinTech Academy at the college level.
The courses may be provided as a standard high school pathway or for dual high school and college credit. Students interested in the dual-enrollment program should contact their academic advisor or guidance counselor.
ATLANTA – Georgia’s unemployment rate remained steady last month, but jobs and employment were on the upswing, the state Department of Labor reported Thursday.
Unemployment in July stood at 7.6% , the same as in June but more than double the 3.4% jobless rate in July of last year. The national unemployment rate last month was 10.2%.
The number of jobs in Georgia rose by 43,800 last month to more than 4.4 million. Employed residents also went up by 55,466 in July to more than 4.6 million.
“Although the unemployment rate remained steady in July, it is promising to see positive growth in critical indicators like employment and jobs,” Georgia Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler said. “I believe you will soon see a gradual decrease in the unemployment rate as employment catches up with increases in labor force.”
After 17 consecutive weeks above 100,000, the number of initial unemployment claims filed in Georgia was less than 100,000 last week for the fourth straight week. First-time unemployment claims for the week ending Aug. 15 were 58,099, down 4,236 from the previous week.
Since March 21, the labor department has processed nearly 3.5 million initial unemployment claims, more than the last eight years combined.
The job sector accounting for the most claims during that period was accommodation and food services, with 832,068 claims. The health care and social assistance sector was next with 412,542 claims, followed by retail trade with 378,545.
More than 120,000 jobs are listed online at EmployGeorgia.com for Georgians to access. The labor department offers online resources for finding a job, building a resume and assisting with other reemployment needs.
Georgia Commissioner of Transportation Russell McMurry
ATLANTA – Traffic is back to pre-pandemic levels in most of Georgia, state Commissioner of Transportation Russell McMurry reported Thursday.
With the economy steadily reopening, the flow of cars and trucks along Georgia’s rural roads and interstate highways is back to normal, McMurry told members of the State Transportation Board during its monthly meeting Thursday. In fact, truck traffic is actually above normal in some parts of the state, he said.
Only in metro Atlanta is traffic still down significantly from levels seen before March, when the coronavirus pandemic hit the state and prompted Gov. Brian Kemp to issue a statewide stay-at-home order. That mandate has since been lifted for all but Georgians in long-term care facilities and those with chronic medical conditions.
Because the metro region accounts for such a large percentage of the vehicles plying Georgia highways, traffic flow statewide is still down 10% to 15% on average, McMurry said. Traffic across the state plummeted by up to half at the height of the economic lockdown.
McMurry said it’s still unclear how much the reopening of schools for the fall semester will affect traffic flows. He said he would know more by the time he reports back to the transportation board next month.
