Metro Atlanta unemployment jumps to 10.3 percent
Metro Atlanta’s unemployment rate shot up to 10.3 percent in June, from 9.8 percent in May, the state labor department said Thursday.
The number of unemployed workers in the metro area increased to 273,405 in June — up 12,568, the labor department reported.
“A sharp increase in the number of discouraged workers, rising long-term unemployment, increased new layoffs and anemic job growth suggests that the fledgling economic recovery may be losing steam,” state Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said in a statement.
In June, 31,434 laid off workers in metro Atlanta filed initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits — an increase of 12 percent. At the same time, the number of payroll jobs fell by 1,000 to 2,268,500.
Last week, the labor department said the state’s unemployment rate declined to 10 percent in June, from 10.1 percent in May. It was the 33rd consecutive month Georgia’s rate has exceeded the national unemployment rate, which is now 9.5 percent.
Georgia lost more jobs from June 2009 to June 2010 than any other state but California, according to the U.S. Labor Department.
“This latest federal report further emphasizes the severity of the crisis facing Georgia’s economy, as our job market shows signs of renewed deterioration,” Thurmond said.
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111 comments Add your comment
Tom Jode
July 22nd, 2010
8:18 am
Apparently more of you exist than can be supported by your environment.
nativeson71
July 22nd, 2010
8:21 am
Here are a few tips to getting a job in a tough market (in Atlanta).
So assuming you have 1 or 2 degerees and years of experience…
TIP #1: if you are FAT go on a DIET and loose the blubber.
Employers like to hire goodlooking people. Sort of like driving a Mercedes…it looks good but the reality it’s and avg car.
TIP # 2: Keep you personal FASHION expression to a minimum…no more than one ear ring (if any) per ear for women, no visible tatoos, men go to a barber shop get a good’ol fashion barber shop hair cut.
TIP # 3: No perfume, no excessive jewlery (men NO JEWLERY), no excessive makeup…
TIP # 4: Crest 3D White Strips – $20 bucks to bleach your teeth.
TIP # 5: Men and Women – basic Navy Blue Suit (no pin strips, no glitter, no lint, new black shoes. (Go to Macy’s suit department – tell them you need an ‘interview suit’ they will help you…just don’t OVER spend ..$250 to $450 for a quality suit. The sales team in the suit dept at Perimeter Mall Macy’s has helped me make a informed selection several times. Use the phrase ‘interivew, weddings and funerals suit.’
I’m done…thanks.
Jobless
July 22nd, 2010
8:22 am
@stop making excuses………guess what……….I can read this blog, cook my breakfast, drink my coffee……put on a load of clothes to wash……send two resume out…..and still comment on this blog……..oh and talk on the phone……..and its still early……..LOL
Mary
July 22nd, 2010
8:23 am
@Stop making excuses…to bad someone did not stop reproducing before you got here, Wow your mother and father should be proud of the AMERICAN you have become, maybe you should get off here and go to work and the job you still have or I might ask the AJC to find out who you are and have you fired for playing on the internet blog while you are at work and if you are retired, then shame on you too for being so mean and cold and like I said to bad someone did not stop reproducing before your kind came along…
SNELLVILLE BUSINESS OWNER
July 22nd, 2010
8:27 am
The answer to the benefits problem is that people who get them do not want to lose them. My business is off and I do not qualify even though it is like being unemployed. Bankruptcy here I come. Congree should have at least paid for the extensions. They spend money like drunken sailors.
There is alot of change just not so much hope. Have a blessed day.
metoo
July 22nd, 2010
8:29 am
You can thank the republicans for our jobs going overseas. And they call themselves “Great Americans”.
http://www.aflcio.org/issues/jobseconomy/jobs/ns03312004a.cfm
deegee
July 22nd, 2010
8:31 am
Jobless, you are 48 and single. You can learn a new skill. Why not concentrate on making yourself marketable rather than on what somebody else is doing?
BTW, most of the 10 million jobs that were lost are in construction and manufacturing. Those are industries that typically employ a number of illegal aliens. The illegal aliens that lost their jobs in those industries are gone. If you really want to compete for a construction job all you have to do is apply.
Real Facts
July 22nd, 2010
8:34 am
We are now at the final results of all the trade agreements that were done in the 1990’s. This mess we are in not because of illegals, it is not because of taxes….it is in fact caused by your jobs going over seas and which will not be coming back. Your country was sold out from under you while you still had a job and were distracted by cheap goods and low interest loans. To make matters worse, we send our cash to the oil rich countries so they could buy up what is left of us because we have no energy policy. But we are sitting here arguing about taxes, illegals and social questions that have nothing to do with getting us out of this situation. Not going to get cured of cancer when you are going to the doctor complaining of a head cold.
Jobless
July 22nd, 2010
8:36 am
It was my family in 1979 in Alabama that lost their job to over seas jobs…….they worked in the Arrow shirt factory…..but thankfully… Wal mart came alone and claim AMERICAN MADE….and it was great motto to use… when you just lost your job to overseas……so everyone ran and shopped there……all the other retail shops went under…..AND now look where WAL MART is…..SUPER STORE…now all the other mom and pops grocery stores are bailing out…..Yeah its been going on for a long time now……..its just now hurt enough people now they have woke up…….
Jobless
July 22nd, 2010
8:39 am
@degree……..I am learning a new skill…..its just not happening overnight…….taking graphic course’s………hopefully it will pan out in the near future…Thanks for bringing that up….
deegee
July 22nd, 2010
8:45 am
Jobless, I’m not picking at you but I think it might help you when corresponding with prospective employers. You might want to brush up on your English punctuation. There is no need for an apostrophe in “courses.”
Jobless
July 22nd, 2010
8:49 am
It’s all good…..when I’m blogging….I just sometimes dont even to bother to proof read my English….after I hit the send button….I might re read it… I just have a lot going on here and sorry I didn’t take the time…my bad……
sam
July 22nd, 2010
8:50 am
Really, do we think folks in this country illegally are preventing you from getting work? The truth is corporations have 2 trillion dollars in cash right now that they could spend to hire. They won’t. Better as them why.
btw, if you’re looking for work I’ve been hearing great job search advice on an internet radio show at http://www.jobtalkamerica.com
FYI
July 22nd, 2010
8:52 am
Not sure if anyone is interested, but there is a company here in Atlanta called The Cleaning Authority. They have owner operated offices all over the metro area. I know several owners, and their biggest complaint is the constant turnover in the employees. The position pays between $7.25 and $10.00 per hour. Hours are Mon-Fri, from 7a to 4p. I know it’s probably not the ideal job for a lot of people, but if you are really desperate and want to work, I know that the owners would love to have some reliable, hard working folks that are interested in doing a good job. i know that once you are in, there are several different opportunities to increase your wages as well as your position in the office. I can tell you that there are TCA offices in Cumming, Atlanta, Duluth, Marietta and Jonesboro that are always hiring. It may be worth your time to check them out.
Good Move
July 22nd, 2010
8:55 am
@Jobless you shouldn’t have to apologize for your misuse of the English language. This is a blog not a college assignment… I feel for the people who are jobless. I pray that the situation gets better. It’s basically bad for people who are working as well. We have furlough days, they are going up on our insurance, work is slow and they are taking more money out of checks for this 401k that we are forced to join. Something has got to give…
tell it like it is
July 22nd, 2010
8:57 am
theirs a lot of people working that should not be working,and a lot of people not working that should be working.
deegee
July 22nd, 2010
9:00 am
sam, thanks for mentioning the news concerning the positive cash flow of American corporations. We are going to be hearing more or this in the next week as companies announce earnings. They have cut expenses/jobs to the bone and the cash they are saving will be paid in the form of bonuses to executives and dividends to shareholders. I would rather see them invest the cash into developing innovative products that will decrease our demand for foreign energy, improve our national transportation system, improve the delivery of health care, etc.
My understanding is that there are a number of small companies that have the expertise to develop products for the 21st century but they can’t get access to the venture capital that they need to go into production. We’re being screwed by the accountants and the finance people.
frustrated in 2010
July 22nd, 2010
9:00 am
@nativeson71 – Very helpful… Really… TY
Jobless
July 22nd, 2010
9:03 am
@Good Move…Thanks for being understanding. I sorta felt like that anyways….Thanks for all the prayers….seems like I find myself in prayer most of the day……and I believe in my heart that it’s going to get better…..I do have hope…..and you keep putting that money in 401k…..I did for over 22 years……and it my life line now…….if people think a unemployment check is a living.. they don’t have a clue…..God bless …..you all have a blessed day. I got to leave this blog now……thanks for letting me vent a little……..LOL its all good…
songbird
July 22nd, 2010
9:08 am
To all of you who are blaming Obama for GA’s jobless rate being higher than the national average, I think you should be looking closer to home, i.e., the Republicans running this state for the past 8 years. They are the ones to blame for the mess this state is in.
Jonathan
July 22nd, 2010
9:08 am
America’s addiction to illegal immigration is far deadlier to its health in the long-term than the overblown “addiction to oil” (which I agree we need to move away from). The Romans moved from an internally-driven economy to an externally-driven economy, as over time military conquest brought them gobs of cheap labor in the form of slaves. This addiction to an inherently unstable pillar of growth is one of the things that led them down the path to their collapse.
But there is more than that. The Roman citizens also fell victim to oppulence and apathy. At the same time their ruling elite lavished in luxury. A society that abhored the idea of Kings just hundreds of years earlier was seen cheering on emperors in their triumphal processions down the city plazas. There is a remarkable similarity between the Roman system of handouts from elites to the citizenry and our modern entitlement state.
These days, the cycle repeats itself in the United States. The bill is already coming due for our addiction to illegal labor, our social programs, and our foreign entanglements. We are paying for it in racial strife, finger pointing, a decrease in tax revenues, and stifled job growth, while talk continually floats about placing ever more burdern on the responsible.
Our president follows the Roman pattern of grabbing more and more power for the Federal Government — he wasn’t the first in our nation to do so, and he won’t be the last. Tyranny is seldom tanks rolling into squares, toppling our places of government. It is most effective when subversive. Like Rome, Tyranny spreads via a subtle series of efforts. Our chains are forged in the divisive, unequal-treatment of progressivism.
People will have to wind up in bread lines or a similarly desperate situations. When we refuse to take our cues from the Bible, this becomes the only way we end up learning and resetting the cycle.
Dave
July 22nd, 2010
9:17 am
Entitlement is strong in Atlanta. I am a foreigner of 30 years. I was 7 when I moved here. My parents came here legally and earned citizenship. I once asked my dad why we moved from France and his response was because you can always find work if you are willing, in this country. Very different than France. This is still the case. However, Americans, Atlantans in particular feel so entitled that they would rather sit around a get unemployment. Earning a max od 350 a week.
I placed an add last week for potential of 50k a year in commissions. Retail Sales with benefits, starting at 500 a week and received 3 responses. Because there are a bunch of free loafing lazy people on this city that like to sit around and blame every one else for their problems. Get off your BEHIND and do what it takes to earn some money to get off the grid. Be a contributor not a loafer. I dont care what you say but any one can earn at least what unemployment pays, Excuses like its beneath me, this is not my type of work are mear justifications to be LAZY. Get over it, get back to work, clean houses, yards, do manual labor until you can get back to what you were doing. I am an American that earned my citizenship and I value the opportunities that are in front of me and realize they are better here than in any other country. What we need is an attitude adjustment and things will begin to improve.
I know some have physically reasons that they can not wrok and i am not talking to you.
Fact, foreigners are 5 times more likely to become millionaires as compared to American born. Because they value what we have! Period, end of line. STOP THE LAZINESS!
GG
July 22nd, 2010
9:20 am
Why are you people still here??? I was told that I will be laid off at the end of August, and have already made plans to move to where the jobs are. Never understood why someone would want to stay in a place where the economy is in the tank.
El Positivo
July 22nd, 2010
9:26 am
Quit finding excuses, people. I just got hired in GA and am making a decent salary with benefits. I have to commute to Gwinnett but in reality, it is only as hard to find work as we allow it to be. Have faith, volunteer and succeed.
Anon
July 22nd, 2010
9:28 am
@GG,
I’ll tell you why I am still here. I have looked in other areas of the country without success. I have even looked into returning to my hometown and the situation is the same there. Truth be known, the job market is horrid here, but it’s not better everywhere either.
songbird
July 22nd, 2010
9:29 am
Not sure if any of the unemployed on this blog as on LinkedIn, but that is a great site to join, especially if you have a degree. It will help you connect with people who are hiring.
Wade
July 22nd, 2010
9:29 am
I wonder if any of the people that complain about rising deficits and debt in this country are recieving any of these extended unemployment benefits. i wonder if they told they’re family that they wont except the money, because it contributes to the national debt
John
July 22nd, 2010
9:46 am
The same people that are complaining about illegal workers are the ones that will not do landscaping work. I own a landscaping co and every time I offer a job to an American, the answer is no, it’s too hard or too hot. If they do start, they quit in three days. Illegals don’t work cheap but they do work hard. I would love to hire Americans if Mom and Dad hadn’t raised such spoiled brats
Eric
July 22nd, 2010
9:48 am
How’s that CHANGE working for ya?
Jobs going overseas-outsourcing
July 22nd, 2010
9:52 am
What a crock of balogney. This outsourcing term is some nonsense that has only come about in the last 10 years. The only jobs going overseas are textile jobs where we simply cannot and should not compete with Asian workers being paid $1.00 a day to make towels, cheap plastic items,etc.
Outsourcing has been going on forever folks. Its just a catchy term used today to justify tariffs so that we can protect $8.00 hr textile jobs. If we did that we as consumers would all be paying substantially higher costs for everyday goods at places like Walmart, Kroger,etc. That would lead to less purchasing power, less demand, and then yet more unemployment- quite a viscious cycle. Let the Asian nations make the cheap stuff. Its called the economic law of comparative advantage folks. Lets retrain our workers to do high tech jobs.
There is truth to the impact illegals have. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and various other studies the mass of illegals has pushed down blue collar wages 15% minimally. We didn’t need fancy studies from the govt though to see that decent paying jobs once held by joe blue collar blacks and whites such as construction, painting houses, paving roads, have all been lost to illegals.
What’s more is that I have a friend who lives in Dalton where the carpet mills are and a friend who worked at a large south Georgia saw mill. All those jobs belong to illegals now. And guess what? They don’t pay taxes. At all those plants (poultry processing plants also) the illegals use fake socials and claim crazy numbers of dependents like 9,15, etc. so that they have virtually no federal taxes being taken out. Its sick that this happens with the complicity of US companies. Who gets screwed? You and me in the way of more unemployed Americans and more employed Americans paying a higher tax burden because illegals are paying nothing. And maybe we would have more money for extended unemployment benefits if illegals at these jobs were actually paying something into the state and federal coffers. They are not.
Change you can believe in!
July 22nd, 2010
9:57 am
I guess all the sloganeering and pretty, feel good, rousing speeches got us now where. All flash, no substance.
I remember when Obama got elected on election night and they were interviewing folks at the Dem hq. Everyone remember that woman who was crying in delight and saying “now I don’t have to worry about my mortgage. Now I’m gonna get free gas put in my car”. Wonder how things are going for her now.
askip32
July 22nd, 2010
10:04 am
I’m shocked that nobody has said “Bush caused this to happen”….Too bad you people voted for Obama, vote him in again! Dumbmasses, less make GA a Dem. state again. Sorry I should go and help a white farmer then I could get a job, no wait I’m white and don’t speak mexican.
Motocross Survivor
July 22nd, 2010
10:12 am
Nativeson71, good advice except for two of your suggestions:
I find people with teeth bleached to an unnatural white off-putting. Of course, if
you’re looking for a cheesy job, e.g. car salesman, “health club” or gym, or
in real estate, I’d say go for the bleached teeth.
Uh, Macys….Macys is a company that has a rather glaring fear of the “C” word,
Christmas. I used to buy all kinds of things there, never again. I don’t even
know what a Macys is. There are plenty of places to get job interview duds.
Rick B
July 22nd, 2010
10:18 am
All this talk about high unemployment and yet companies are reporting profits can be explained in one word ‘Outsourcing’. Companies are laying off employees here in the US and outsourcing those jobs overseas at much lower rates which in turn improves the companies profit margins. What companies fail to see is the long reaching implications of this. Eventually those folks who have been laid off will no longer have the means to spend money with the company(s) that laid them off. Outsourcing has a far reaching impact that directly affects our communities ability to grow. Outsourced jobs impact the community grocery stores, hardware stores, day care facilities, the local flower store, etc…. We seem to fail to see that when companies send jobs overseas it will ultimately impact their profits, it may take some time before they feel the true impact but it’s coming. We are on the ledge of a major economic collapse that we don’t even see coming.
say what?
July 22nd, 2010
10:23 am
@Jobs overseas- ACtually more careers are moving overseas as technology advances. Software engineering jobs have been outsourced as you can email or Fedex work done on new products. Quality assurance and learning/organization jobs are outsourced to other countries as well. If a job requires a majority of the time using computers, faxes, emails, employee intranets- then that job can be outsourced to employees in other countries where the need for employee benefits is slim to none. In the medical field, our medical records are now electronic, compliance officers in America are no longer necessary as we can now connect a village to the internet, explain policy, provide some training, and let them make decisions on your care. I can see “e-doctors” coming on board to diagnose health problems. Oops we already have that.
diversity diva
July 22nd, 2010
10:28 am
Blaming others; illegals, the government, blacks, whites, pinks, is self-defeating. Yes we are in a recession, yes we financed an entire war with deficit spending and now we are financing food on the table of unemployed hard working people who would have NOTHING otherwise with deficit spending. We allowed big business (banks, derivatives) to scheme and speculate so now many of us are suffering. We allowed a war we could not afford so now many of us suffering. We cut taxes in the midst of all of that(and I am a proponent of lower taxes) further aggravating our deficit spending, so many of us are suffering. Where were the voices against deficit spending when we were sinking into this hole for no good reason? We allowed deficit spending for war and tax cuts but now that we have to do it for those who have put their blood, sweat, and tears into the economy and need us we have a problem. We have to get off the blame game. When I was young the blacks were the problem and everyone’s employment issue was the menial jobs they were allowed to occupy, now its the Mexicans but that was not the truth then and it is not the truth now. All pain always has a purpose and I pray we do not repeat the same cycle with blame and mis-directed anger. If we do not get the lesson we will repeat the class. We will get through this. I just hope we do not keep repeating the same thing (blame, uncooperative divisiveness, hate) and expect a different result. God has a way of turning up the heat to refocus us, hopefully to love, compassion, and faith. Anything else will prove fruitless.
shadow7071
July 22nd, 2010
10:34 am
Just a few years ago the argument was… we don’t need manufacturing jobs because we’re all going to be “Knowledge Workers”. We’re going to do all of the “Smart” work and we’ll let these folks in developing countries do this production stuff. So we stood by and allowed those dirty, undesirable, manufacturing jobs to go away. What we didn’t realize was that many “Knowledge Worker” jobs were tied to manufacturing and those jobs went also. And over time many more “Knowledge Worker” jobs have gone offshore.
At the same time we were told that its ok for illegals to do stuff like construction, lawn care, fast food, and other service jobs because all of us are going to be the “Smart Knowledge Workers”.
Now we’re told that we’re all going to be “Green Workers”. All that “Knowledge Work” is best done offshore by folks who are smarter, work better with technology and will work for less money. So, for all of the unemployed in Atlanta and across the country you need to looking for “Green Work” and a “Green Job”. And you need to be quick before these “Green Jobs” are off-shored to people who are more “Green” and better suited for “Green” work than we are.
Atlantan
July 22nd, 2010
11:05 am
The summer of recovery sure has been fun. The truth always wins in the end. If you are unemployed or don’t like this economy look directly at the Obama administration and the Democrat controlled congress. Regulation after regulation and taxes are about to go sky high. A business is not going to hire in this environment unless they absolutely have to do it. If American’s held their politicians accountable the economy would be doing much better. Obama / Pelosi & Reed have created an air of uncertainty and they are stalling business growth and hiring.
Bush had us at an unemployment rate below 5%. Reagan’s tax cuts drove a fantastic economy in the 80’s. Even Clinton with a Republican house had the ship moving forward.
There is a way out of this mess, but not until there is dramatic change in DC will business and employment growth take place again.
deegee
July 22nd, 2010
11:05 am
So true, John. The anti-immigrant group likes to talk about lines around the block when a company is hiring after an ICE raid. Those that are hired won’t come back after they get their first paycheck.
Andy in Blairsville
July 22nd, 2010
11:16 am
The double-dip recession has begun and Q3 and Q4 2010 will be negative GDP quarters.
Alecia
July 22nd, 2010
11:18 am
I wonder how many people on this blog try to purchase American products when available. Some may argue that it is more expensive. However, the cheapo Chinese products have been going up in price and catching up with the U.S.. Sometimes our stuff costs less after transporting across the world. Of course I would never eat anything from China(Juicy Juice and candy products). Anyone that would eat food from a country that cannot get baby formula right is a total moron. I would also rather have a good Weber grill (USA) than the majority of the cheapos found at HD or Lowe’s(Chinese w/ higher gauge steel). Yeah the Weber costs more, but we are talking about things that catch fire and can endanger your family.
Aside from the quality issues, buying American helps our economy and produces jobs. Everyone needs to do their part and not just sit back and say “What can the government give me?”
Metro Atlanta unemployment jumps to 10.3 percent | The Atlanta Post
July 22nd, 2010
11:26 am
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nativeson71
July 22nd, 2010
11:38 am
@Motorcross –
Pick your prefered suit store…Mensware House is a great retailer where you one can ask for a basic ‘interview suit’…and they will steer a consumer in the right direction.
Teeth bleeching – the point being to look fresh and ready to hit the ground running. Bleeching will not hurt…but that tattoo on one’s wrist might.
Cheesy Job – when I was unemployed I would have done ANYTHING to pay the mortgage…so while working in a gym might be cheesy to you…I would do it and flip burgers if I had too. Having / accepting a job in the economy is important…and when the ‘real’ job comes along your resume will show you have been working and not laying around collecting welfare ..oops I mean unemployment.
Anon
July 22nd, 2010
12:02 pm
In the early to mid 80’s unemployment was sky high. I was unable to find work in my hometown, so eventually I relocated to Atlanta to find work. The 80’s weren’t all that great, but people will remember the past with just a little more in focus.
sally
July 22nd, 2010
12:10 pm
All this RACISM is not going to help the problem. U.S. problems are deep and complex, if they weren’t someone would have already solved the issue of this recession. Bush and the war started the recession and now we are in the hole so deep no one can figure a way out. Now some folks in GA need to open up to moving other places, apply for jobs out of state, make a career change, do something to get off unemployment, but I have no problem with folks receiving it. Better they receive unemployment than come knock me side the head or break in my house because they need money for food. People do get desperate.
Andy in Blairsville
July 22nd, 2010
12:11 pm
To Alecia: I’m proud to be an American manufacturer myself who grew 30% in 09 and I’m on track to grow 20% in 2010 if the economy doesn’t totally fall off the map. I even plan to build another warehouse this fall as I’m quickly running out of room. And yes, I’m part of a dying breed.
I was shocked the other day when I was in Walmart and they had a 4 or 5 pack of plastic cups on sale for .50 AND the cups were made in the USA.
Mike Manning Jr
July 22nd, 2010
12:12 pm
Dave? I am interested! Can You give me more information? MikenAtlanta@gmail.com
Bad Times
July 22nd, 2010
12:37 pm
I have a masters degree and have been working retail for about 3 years on a part time bases. My hours just got cut there also because business is down. What amazes me is when someone comes into my place of business and said they just moved here but didn’t have a job. I would say to them, do you know the unemployment rate here? I just didn’t get it.
John Galt
July 22nd, 2010
12:57 pm
Did you people really expect Hope and Change from this guy? Suckers.
Mike Manning Jr
July 22nd, 2010
1:03 pm
I think that this blog is controlled 100% by the ” Powers that be”>>