ATLANTA – Georgia’s unemployment rate fell last month to well below the national rate but still far above pre-coronavirus levels.
Unemployment in June stood at 7.6%, down 1.8% compared to the previous month but more than twice the jobless rate of 3.5% posted in June of last year.
Last month’s report from the Georgia Department of Labor also revealed month-over-month increases in the state’s labor force, the number of employed Georgians and the number of jobs.
“June was the first month to show positive numbers in all major indicators since the pandemic started,” state Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler said Thursday.
The improving employment figures come even as the number of coronavirus cases in Georgia rise at an alarming rate. While lower unemployment is a result of the state’s economy continuing to reopen, there’s no guarantee the ratcheting up of business activity won’t hit a bump.
“We are not naïve to the fact that we may see another tick up in [unemployment] claims over the next few months,” Butler said. “We will continue to work unemployment claims both new and continued to ensure all Georgians are being taken care of during these unprecedented times.”
Despite the improving unemployment picture, first-time unemployment claims actually increased last week after declining for 10 weeks in a row. Initial claims for the week ending July 11 were up 34,862 from the previous week, for a total of 138,452.
Butler said his department is going to examine the increase in claims to determine whether fraud was involved.
“Many states have seen sharp increases in claims numbers leading to the uncovering of large fraud rings and individual fraudulent claims that led to criminal charges and prosecution,” he said.
June showed an increase of 118,100 employed Georgians, bringing the total to more than 4.5 million. The state’s labor force was up by 31,100 to more than 4.9 million.
Jobs in Georgia increased by 150,200 during the month to nearly 4.4 million.
U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler speaks at the state Capitol after qualifying for the 2020 election on March 2, 2020. (Photo by Beau Evans)
ATLANTA – U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., raised almost $910,000 in campaign contributions during the second quarter, according to a report filed this week with the Federal Election Commission.
However, the wealthy Atlanta businesswoman continued to primarily self-fund her bid for a full six-year Senate term. She loaned her campaign $5 million during the second quarter, bringing her total personal loans to $15 million since Gov. Brian Kemp appointed her late last year to succeed retiring Sen. Johnny Isakson.
Under unique election rules that apply to Loeffler’s status as an interim senator, she will defend the seat Nov. 3 in a free-for-all contest that features 21 candidates, including Republicans and Democrats. If no one receives more than 50% of the vote, a likely outcome in such a crowded race, the top two finishers will square off in a runoff in early January.
Loeffler’s chief competition within her party is U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville. On the Democratic side, the Rev. Raphael Warnock, chief pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, is poised for a strong run at the seat.
Loeffler’s deep pockets put her campaign in good position financially as the contest moves forward. She reported more than $7 million cash on hand as of June 30.
“Senator Loeffler is building a substantial war chest ahead of the November election,” campaign spokesman Stephen Lawson said. “Kelly has also built a robust field operation, contacting tens of thousands of voters each week and mobilizing grassroots supporters in all 159 counties.”
Warnock raised more than $2.85 million in April, May and June. Collins raised $2.5 million during the first quarter. His second-quarter report was not on file with the FEC as of Thursday morning.
ATLANTA – The Georgia Lottery has transferred more than $1.2 billion in profits from the fiscal year that ended June 30 to education, a record in the program’s 27-year history.
The fiscal 2020 transfer brings the total the lottery has contributed to the HOPE Scholarship and prekindergarten programs to more than $22.3 billion.
“The Georgia Lottery’s monumental success is a milestone to celebrate,” Gov. Brian Kemp said. “By funding HOPE and Pre-K, the Georgia Lottery continues to help Georgia’s students gain a high-quality education from start to finish, which ultimately makes our state stronger and more competitive.”
Fiscal 2020 marked the fifth consecutive year the lottery has surpassed $1 billion in profits for education and the ninth consecutive year of growth in funding to education.
Breaking the all-time record was in doubt in March, when revenues took a dip as the coronavirus pandemic took hold in Georgia.
But sales rebounded during the final quarter of the fiscal year as players became more familiar with online playing. Also, many lottery retailers remained open while most other forms of entertainment were limited.
“As with all companies, 2020 has been an historic year, challenging us to the max, which makes me even more honored to report this record year of returns for education,” said Gretchen Corbin, the Georgia Lottery’s president and CEO. “Our team has been laser focused on delivering the greatest amount possible to the state in a year where we first focused on outpacing 2019, the year of one of the largest jackpots in history, and then added COVID-19 challenges to our goal to surmount.”
More than 1.9 million Georgia students have received HOPE benefits since the program’s inception, and more than 1.6 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary prekindergarten program.
U.S. Sen. David Perdue speaks at the State Capitol after qualifying for the 2020 election on March 2, 2020. (Photo by Beau Evans)
ATLANTA – U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., raised nearly $3 million during the second quarter of this year, the first-term senator’s campaign announced Wednesday.
While that’s less than the $3.45 million Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff brought in during April, May and June, Perdue is sitting on a huge campaign war chest of $10.7 million for the November election.
“Georgians are making a clear statement that they strongly support Sen. David Perdue’s record of bipartisan results and his positive vision for our state,” said Ben Fry, Perdue’s campaign manager. “Our campaign’s continued fund-raising success shows that conservatives aren’t taking this race for granted as we step up to hold the radical left accountable.”
Recent polls show the race between Perdue and Ossoff is tight. Democratic voters turned out in huge numbers in last month’s primary and are expected to remain energized throughout the upcoming campaign.
Both sides have taken to the airwaves since the June primaries, with Perdue and Ossoff running their own TV ads along with ads funded by outside organizations.
Of the $2.97 million Perdue raised during the second quarter, $2.23 million came from the campaign. The rest of the funds were raised from outside donors, including the Georgia Republican Party.
Piedmont Atlanta’s new Marcus Tower will house coronavirus patients in a partnership with the state.
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp announced a partnership with Piedmont Healthcare late Tuesday to provide additional hospital bed capacity for treating Georgia’s growing number of coronavirus patients.
Patients will be cared for at Piedmont Atlanta’s new Marcus Tower, which opened almost four months ahead of schedule.
The new partnership will involve an initial use of 62 beds with the capability of adding more based on demand.
Kemp joined Piedmont President and CEO Kevin Brown for Tuesday’s announcement.
“I’m very grateful to Kevin Brown and the entire Piedmont Healthcare team for their willingness to partner with the state of Georgia and provide this critical resource to patients and surrounding hospitals,” Kemp said. “These hospital beds will provide additional surge capacity for health-care facilities in metro Atlanta and ensure COVID-19 patients receive the essential care they need.”
The state will leverage existing medical staffing contracts to provide necessary personnel to Piedmont Atlanta. The facility is expected to be fully operational within the next week.
The partnership with Piedmont is the second step the governor has taken in recent days to ramp up hospital-bed capacity with COVID-19 cases on the rise in Georgia. Last Friday, Kemp announced the planned reopening of the Georgia World Congress Center for standby hospital beds and medical equipment.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 123,964 Georgians had contracted coronavirus, while the virus had killed 3,054.
