Rural Unemployment in Double Digits

Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond testified to Congress Today (Thursday). Thurmond was there to ask for more federal money and brief lawmakers how current stimulus funding is being spent to aid the unemployed in Georgia.

While Atlanta and Macon are seeing the job picture brighten up, much, if not all of rural Georgia is facing double digit unemployment rates.

According to the state labor department, there are three---what could
be described as--- blight belts in the state:

The corridor between Atlanta and Augusta, the Wiregrass highway in South Georgia, and the region between Atlanta and Chattanooga.

Some counties in these regions are facing unemployment as high as twenty percent.

State labor commissioner Michael Thurmond has warned the manufacturing sector in these areas is likely to continue to struggle. Thurmond is in Washington looking for
more federal funds in part, to maintain the future solvency of the unemployment trust fund as jobless rates, especially in rural areas, remains high.

Thurmond Will Introduce Stimulus Amendments

On Sunday, Governor Sonny Perdue told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he may not accept some of the stimulus funds because they may not be in the long-term interest of the state. But Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond says even though it would require changing state law, he supports accepting $220 million dollars in federal stimulus money geared to unemployment benefits.

He says he plans to introduce two amendments to Georgia law this week to pave the way for federal stimulus money. One will change Georgia's requirements on part-time workers receiving unemployment benefits. The other would change job training rules.

Thurmond calls accepting the stimulus money "prudent," because it would help the state's unemployment fund remain solvent.

He says more unemployed people may become eligible for benefits-

"… if you really look at the impact it would be very, very miniscule. And at the end of the day accepting the money, in my opinion, will actually be of great benefit to Georgia because it would allow us to stabilize our trust fund …"

And that's good news for employers, according to Thurmond. He says if Georgia's unemployment trust fund runs out, the state would be required to raise employer taxes immediately.

State Unemployment Up; Phone Systems Tied

The unprecedented number of state unemployment claims is breaking records- and phones.

One of the nine phone systems that handle the 150,000 weekly unemployment claims calls crashed yesterday after a technical glitch caused circuits to overload. After several hours of being out of service, the phone line is up-and-working again.

Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond says normally eight phone systems can handle the calls- but the current volume of people seeking to file unemployment claims warrants an extra system.

The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of Georgians filing first-time claims for state unemployment insurance is up 80.7 percent from January of last year.

Those receiving unemployment compensation must call the automated system every week to verify that they’re looking for work. Thurmond says calls started coming in at 12:01 AM this week. By 1 AM claims for over 3,000 people had been certified.

(AP)

Thurmond: Double Digit Unemployment By The End Of The Year

In an interview today, Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond told GPB that Georgia will see double digit unemployment by the end of the year, based on current trends.

That comes after the "sobering" news of a 174% spike in unemployment claims.

Thurmond says he is convinced, based on the data he reviews, the recession will be "long and difficult" and will extend into 2010.

The full interview will be posted on www.gpb.org/wgpb at 4 p.m.

State Jobless Claims Up 174 Percent

"Stunning and sobering" is how Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond described December's job numbers.

There were over 125 thousand initial claims in Decmeber 2008, compared to just under 50 thousand the same time last year.

In Northwest Georgia, initial claims are up one hundred percent. Over three thousand claims were filed in Floyd county alone.

(special hat tip to druck at www.hometownheadlines.com)

Unemployment centers expand hours

The Department of Labor is responding to a budget crisis and rising unemployment by shifting to a four-day work week of 10-hour days. Staff will rotate shifts to cover a five-day week and the new schedule actually means expanded customer service at centers. Centers will be open will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with some centers opening 30 minutes earlier or staying open 30 minutes later, based on volume. Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond says an increasing number of jobless people are seeking services and it has become harder to serve them during a standard 40-hour work week.

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.

Kia swamped with online job applicants

Thurmond and Kia officials at a ceremony inaugurating the online hiring process, at West Georgia Technical College, Jan. 8, 2008. (Dave Bender)

In a just-concluded jobs program, over 43,000 applicants swamped Kia Motors' online hiring site for their SUV plant being built in west Georgia. The applicants were vying for 2,500 production and maintenance jobs at the West Point plant.

State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond says this is the first totally online job application process for a major employer in Georgia:

“Any person who had access to a com puter could go to kiajobs.com – apply for a job. We also - for those who did not have Internet access – we allowed individuals to use our computers at our 53 career centers around the state of Georgia.”

Thurmond added that some 400 walk-in applicants came to a recruitment center set up at West Georgia Technical College in LaGrange. A similar number applied with Kia at a recent job fair held in Columbus. The online hiring program was inaugurated only a month ago.

Thurmond says that most of them are Georgians:

“We're very proud of the fact that between 70 and 75 percent of the people who applied online are Georgia residents.”

Kia's hiring and job training program at West Georgia Technical College set up this center, with several hundred computer stations, to aid the process. (Dave Bender)

But getting that job – and they're paying between 15 and 23 dollars an hour – is just the first step.

Ron Jackson, Commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia, set out the hiring path at the program's gala inauguration in early January:

“Once they are selected and employed by kia, they will go through a full training program that is generated by Quickstart, supported by our technical college system, at the training center that will be at the Kia site.”

The $1.2 billion dollar plant is due to open in Nov., 2009, will produce about 300,000 Sorrento SUVs annually.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of ongoing developments in the Kia operation.

Drop In Georgia Jobs: Report

The stats. Click on the graphic for a larger image. (Courtesy Georgia Department of Labor)

Latest statistics say unemployment in several Georgia cities rose sharply in recent months. A Georgia Department of Labor report says the unemployment rate statewide spiked from 4.2 to 4.6 percent in December. Those figures are two tenths of a percent below the national average.

Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond:

“This increase is the largest we’ve had for the November – December time period in more than three decades. So that tells us that there are issues that are impacting the economy, the housing front, higher gas prices…”

Albany, Augusta, Columbus and Macon showed the steepest increases in unemployment of Georgia cities – all over five percent.

Thurmond says that among the fields affected by the slowdown are construction, manufacturing, employment services, and the leisure and hospitality services.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of employment issues.

Labor Commissioner: unemployment "troubling"

The state Department of Labor says about twenty thousand new unemployment claims were filed last month. Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond says calls the jump troubling, and says it’s in large part connected to the sub prime mortgage mess. Overall, four sectors of Georgia's economy manufacturing, agriculture, housing and information services are in recession.