Unemployment in Georgia reaches highest level in 33 years

If you're looking for work, you're not alone. Truly. The Georgia Department of Labor says in May, the state's unemployment rate jumped to 9.7 percent the highest rate ever recorded in Georgia. (Records have been kept since 1976.)

The jobless rate was up five-tenths of a percentage point from a revised 9.2 percent in April. Last month, 463,883 unemployed Georgians were looking for work, an increase of 62 percent from May of 2008. Of that number, 157,544, or 34 percent, are receiving state unemployment insurance benefits, while approximately another 90,000 are receiving federal extended benefits."Georgia's record unemployment rate of 9.7 percent is a stark reminder that the road to economic recovery will be long and difficult" says State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond.

The figures of nearly 10 percent employment are stark enough, however, when compared to last year, even more sobering. In May, the jobless rate was almost 4 percent higher than in May of 2008. And here's one more thing:
Georgia's unemployment rate remains above the national rate of 9.4 percent for the 19th consecutive month.

The number of payroll jobs in May decreased 217,000, or 5.2 percent, from May of 2008. DOL says in the Savannah area, there are about 4,900 fewer jobs now than in May of 2008.

We found Janette DeLoach looking for job openings at the DOL Career Center on southside Savannah. "There are a few things to apply for, not many," she tells me.

DeLoach says she has experience in a number of fields and a few years ago, probably would have spent just a few weeks finding some kind of work. She says she's been out of a job for a year now.

We also found Donald Yates applying for unemployment benefits. The college professor just got done with a one year contract teaching criminology. "People with higher education need a job just like anyone else these days," he says.

DeLoach says some people she sees at the Career Center seem discouraged, but for the most part she plans to keep trying. "You can't give up," she says.