State Senate OK's Expanded Jobless Benefits

Georgia Senate lawmakers voted to expand unemployment benefits, allowing the state to qualify for hundreds of millions of dollars in federal stimulus money. The bill approved Monday allows some jobless workers to qualify for additional unemployment benefits if they seek training in high-demand fields.

Jobless numbers up in September

The state's unemployment rate has risen slightly, according to the Georgia Department of Labor. The rate rose a tenth of a percent, from 4.5 percent in August to 4.6 percent in September. Labor department officials say they added 6048 additional jobless residents to their unemployment rolls in September, and that early reports show the state lost 800 payroll jobs, particularly in the areas of hospitality, business and professional services, retail trade, financial activities, manufacturing and construction. More than 23,000 job seekers, however, entered the workforce during this time. Georgia's unemployment rate was a tenth of a percent higher than the national rate of 4.5%. For more information about the report, and numbers for the state's 14 metro areas, go to www.dol.state.ga.us/pr/current_data.htm.