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
Comrade Obama
July 22nd, 2010
1:43 pm
No they expected him to pay for their house and car.
Recession?
July 22nd, 2010
1:56 pm
Obama’s economic gurus said the recession was over long ago—cheer up—they know what they are talking about. Some of them went to harvard.
Montell
July 22nd, 2010
2:14 pm
The system is set to hurt minorities more than anyone—all this racism is keeping African-Americans from finding good jobs. I’m getting tired of this and if I don’t find a job soon, I’m moving back to New Jersey.
sigh
July 22nd, 2010
2:31 pm
Go for it, Montell. The system isn’t set up to hurt any minority more than another, it just affects certain industries more. As proof, look at the Male vs Female employment gap. This is a male recession. Does that mean the Man is out to get men? Nope, it just means male-dominate industries happened to be hit harder.
Stop using race as a crutch for everything goodness.
Urbancow
July 22nd, 2010
3:24 pm
If you are complaining about illegals stealing your job, you should have either stayed in school a little longer or not committed so many felonies.
anonymous coward
July 22nd, 2010
4:29 pm
It’s a funny thing – I read a lot of complaints about this administration or that administration and Congress that screwed everything up and how it’s all their fault, oh woe is us. When in reality it’s ALL OUR FAULT. You go to WalMart to buy your stuff, right? Where’s it made? CHINA. Every dang bit of it. You drive your huge SUV’s and pick up trucks that get 15 MPG at best – that oil doesn’t come from here. All that money you spend or have spent on whatever you buy goes out of the economy. That’s NO JOBS for Americans, no manufacturing for AMERICANS. You’re all a bunch of sheep that just run to the next bargain, who cares where it’s made or what it means to purchase this crap just because it’s the cheapest. Then, when that’s not enough, you put second mortgages on your homes to buy even more crap made in CHINA, and when the bottom falls out, there’s no jobs left GUESS WHAT — WE DID IT TO OURSELVES. We elected people, put them in government over and over, didn’t pay any attention to what they did. WE DID THAT TO OURSELVES. You want government to take care of you, fix the economy, make jobs better…. good luck with that. It doesn’t work in Cuba and it sure as heck won’t work here. Oh wait, Cuba has 95% or better employment, but as they say, the government pretends to pay and we pretend to work. Is that the kind of life you’re looking for?
Karen Handel calls for anti-abortion officials to resign | atlanta.rssible.com
July 22nd, 2010
5:19 pm
[...] other news, Georgia’s unemployment rate unexpectedly jolted in [...]
Mike
July 22nd, 2010
10:29 pm
Reading through the posts has reassured me of one long standing stereotype……….
the South truly is full of stupid people.
GA Unemployed Resident
July 25th, 2010
9:32 pm
Going through re-training is a great idea; however, when you’re unemployed, that choice is placed on the back burner when there’s no money coming in. It’s easy for someone whose employed to tell someone without income to return to school. Give me a job first and I will go back!
Bad Times
July 26th, 2010
2:14 am
Great post anonymous coward. I’d like to add to that by saying that the ones that want stricter immigration reform are the very ones that drive by the Home Depots and pick these people up because of their low wages and pay them cash and don’t have to pay payroll taxes.
Oscar
July 26th, 2010
3:20 am
Compounding the problem is the fact too many people have too many children. Stop having kids that you can’t afford. Numbr two, stop living beyond your means. And finally, stop being insecure and believing you must be married. Too often that results in divorce, alimony and child support. Live responsibly and you can retire at an early age.