Procter and Gamble Job Losses in Albany

Proctor and Gamble is asking 300 employees in Southwest Georgia to retire early from their paper products plant in Albany.
This is the second major economic setback in Albany this year. Back in March, Cooper Tire announced it was shutting down its plant there. By the end of the year, 14-hundred people will have lost their jobs.
Now one of the city's other largest employers, Proctor and Gamble, says it's cutting 300 employees through what the company is calling, "voluntary separations."
Employees will be offered a severance package according to Vince Falcione with Proctor and Gamble.

"It will include severance pay. It will include an extension of employee benefits. It will also include career counseling and assistance."

The Georgia Department of Labor stresses that voluntary separations are different from layoffs, and because of that unemployment benefits are determined on a case-by-case basis.

Albany: applicants swamp job fair

Turnout at an Albany job fair for a Marine Corps contractor on Friday was so great that the contractor, AECOM, says they canceled about 200 interviews that were scheduled for Sunday.

“AECOM has told us that they have so many applications, they will not be honoring those interviews,” Kari Finley, media and events manager for Goodwill Industries of the Southern Rivers and the fair’s host told the Albany Herald newspaper.

More than 1,500 registered for 125 positions, according to the report. The contractor interviewed some 450 applicants.

The more than 10 to one rush for spots comes in the wake of the announcement by the city's Cooper Tire plant that it was shuttering its doors in '09, a move that will put more than 2,000 people out of work.

Georgia unemployment is at a 25-year high.

Click here for more GPB News reports about unemployment.

Georgia unemployment highest in 25 years

Georgia’s unemployment rate has hit a 25-year high, as job losses accelerate their spread across the state.

The current mark of 7.5 percent is a spike of six-tenths of a point from October. And it’s three FULL percentage points higher than from November of last year.

State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond says the losses are everywhere: from manufacturing, to construction, to the retail industry. His fears of the Cooper Tire plant shutdown in Albany were confirmed in the announcement this week--gone from southwest Georgia are another 15-hundred jobs.

Thurmond says a select few industries are weathering the economic storm:

"There are some opportunities within the healthcare industry, federal government and education. Beyond those, job losses continue to mount."

Thurmond says the state’s 53 Career Centers are being flooded with out-of-work Georgians. The centers are open 10 hours a day, 5 days a week. For a complete list, go to the Department of Labor website: dol.state.ga.us

New unemployment claims spike by 75-percent

Initial claims for unemployment benefits in Georgia jumped a staggering 75-percent from October of last year.

New numbers from the state Department of Labor show the biggest percentage spikes in claims were felt across different metro areas of the state--from Dalton in northwest Georgia, to Athens in the east, to the coast in Brunswick.

Layoffs continue to be seen across-the-board. Manufacturing, construction and retail-trade sectors are suffering in particular.

The statistics represent a third consecutive month that new unemployment claims rose by more than 70-percent over a year’s time.

State unemployment worsens

The state Department of Labor reports Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 6.5 percent in September--its highest mark in 16 years. The number is a full two percentage points up from the same time last year. Georgia’s unemployment rate is above the national mark for the eighth straight month by four-tenths of a point.

Sharp rise in state unemployed for September

State Labor officials say there were 56,652 first-time claims for unemployment filed in September. The numbers represent a sharp increase of 76-percent over September of last year. The highest percentage spike in claims was reported in Gainesville, Dalton and Rome. Layoffs are across-the-board, but especially seen in manufacturing, construction, and the trade and services sectors.

Labor officials say as the state is in the midst of a challenging economic environment, the department is doing everything it can to help those out of work.

Unemployment benefits extended

The Georgia Department of Labor is extending unemployment insurance benefits. The federal government will provide the funding. President George W. Bush signed a bill that provides up to 13 weeks of assistance for the unemployed. The Georgia DOL will notify eligible jobless Georgians by mail.

Rise in state unemployment claims

New numbers from the state Department of Labor show that just over 50-thousand laid-off workers filed first-time claims for unemployment in April. That represents an increase of 21-percent from March. The loss of jobs came across-the-board in the areas of manufacturing, construction, trade and services. A sampling of some metro areas in the state experiencing an uptick in claims filed: Atlanta up 2,731, or nearly 16-percent from March. Dalton was up by 714 claims, or 31-percent. Macon saw a rise by 442 claims from March, or almost 51-percent.

Unemployment rate down in metro Augusta but up in CSRA

Unemployment in metro Augusta is down, according to the Georgia Department of Labor.

The rate dropped to 5.3 percent in March from 5.5 percent in February, a decline of two-tenths of a percent. But labor officials note that the unemployment rate was lower in March 2007, at 4.9 percent.

Metro Augusta's unemployment rate matches the state's, which remains unchanged since February.

Meanwhile, unemployment in the Central Savannah River Area, which encompasses a broader region that includes metro Augusta, is up one tenth of a percent, from 6.0 percent in February to 6.1 percent in March.

Workforce grant aims to help struggling NW Ga

A boost of 250-thousand dollars from the state Department of Labor is going to northwest Georgia. The workforce development grant has been awarded to the Coosa Valley Regional Development Center. Georgia labor officials note the area’s large number of layoffs and unemployment rate higher than state and national rates. Unemployment in the Coosa Valley region is 6.2 percent--above Georgia’s rate of 5.3.

State unemployment rate up again

New numbers released Thursday by the state Department of Labor show an increase of six-tenths of a percent in Georgia's unemployment rate from December, to 5.2 percent.

State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond told GPB, "this six-tenths of a percent increase is very unusual for this time of year, and I think its just an indication of the continuing negative impact that the credit crunch, housing crisis, as well as rising fuel costs are having on Georgia's job market".

Extending to a period of the past two months, Georgia's unemployment rate has spiked a full one percentage point, which Thurmond says is distressing.

"This increase of this magnitude has not occured in Georgia in almost two decades. So this in of itself is atypical of the Georgia employment market. We're beginning now to see a trend, and unfortunately it's a trend points to higher unemployment rates in our state".

Georgia's overall rate of 5.2 percent unemployment stands two-tenths of one percent lower than the U.S. unadjusted rate of 5.4 percent.

Thurmond urges those Georgians looking for work to visit one of the state's 53 career centers for help in their search.

Unemployment claims up from 2006 to 2007

Georgia’s first-time unemployment claims are up. The state Department of Labor says nearly 47,000 laid-off workers filed first time claims in December 2007 … 16% more than December 2006. However the labor Department says claims were down 2.6% from November to December ’07.

KIA Opens Hiring Center, Website

KIA and state officials unveil Now Hiring! sign at ceremony at West Georgia Technical College, Jan. 8, 2008. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Kia Motors today opened it's doors to job-seekers for their auto plant being built near La Grange, in west Georgia.

Senior leaders from the Korean automaker, including the CEO and several hundred state and local officials made the announcement at West Georgia Technical College in La Grange. KIA needs production and maintenance workers for the plant, set to open next year. The factory plans to hire some 2,500 people, overall.

Ken Cochran, local Department of Labor project manager, says of the operation:

“It's probably the first time for a company this large in Georgia to do an application process exclusively over the Internet.”

The Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education, The DOL and KIA opened a training center at the school for those without internet access.

Banks of computers at West Georgia Technical College awaiting job-seekers, and trainees for nearby KIA plant, Jan. 8, 2008. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Applicants can also apply at 53 career centers, statewide and have until February seventh to sign up for the first round of hiring.

Applications for the plant are available here.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the Kia assembly plant and it's effects on the area.

Georgia Unemployment Rate Down For November

Georgia’s unemployment rate is down for November. The Department of labor says it now stands at 4.2 percent. That’s 3 point below the national average of 4.5 percent and it’s half a percentage lower than October. Georgia officials credit temporary holiday season employment for the increase in over 21,600 jobs in Georgia for November.

State study grants for Ft. Benning soldiers' spouses

The $2,296,638 Heroes at Home DOL/DOD Military Spouse initiative fund offers spouses of active duty military personnel at Fort Benning $6,000 over a two-year period.

The money is to enable them to complete post-secondary education at two-year community and technical colleges statewide.

“I applaud the strength shown by military spouses in times of war and peace,” Governor Sonny Perdue said of the program. “It is my hope that we are able to show our true appreciation for these heroes at home by aiding them in the advancement of their education and their careers,” Perdue said, according to a statement released by the Govenor's Office Wednesday.

Some 2,400 spouses at Ft. Benning are expected to be eligible for these grants.

More information on the program is available here and here.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of Ft. Benning, and military affairs.

First-time jobless claims down for September

There was a 6.4 percent decrease from August to September in first-time unemployment claims filed by laid-off workers in Georgia. The state Department of Labor says the decrease came mainly in trade and services. The Augusta-area had the biggest decrease percentage-wise in first time claims, down 29-percent. At the opposite end of the scale, first-time claims jumped 68-percent in Dalton from August to September.