Jobless claims soar almost 1,000% locally
♦ Paulding County leads the region in unemployment filings, followed by Bartow and Floyd.
The COVID-19 crisis sent more than 3,700 Floyd County residents to the Georgia Department of Labor to file an unemployment claim in March.
That’s up 994.2% from the 344 first time unemployment claims filed by Floyd County residents in March a year ago.
For those looking for some sort of silver lining in the unemployment report, Floyd County only ranks third in the 15-county Northwest Georgia region.
Rome Floyd Chamber President Jeanne Krueger was not surprised at the large increase in claims.
“It does cross sectors right now. I think the hardest hit are the smaller businesses,” Krueger said. “The relief programs that are in place — hopefully, those funds will help bridge the gap so they can reopen, rehire and bring employees back at the appropriate time.”
Paulding County has the dubious distinction of leading the region in unemployment claims, with 4,507 residents seeking help from the state in March.
Bartow County was second with 3,848 initial claims, followed by Floyd, then Whitfield County with 2,661 first-time claims and Polk County rounding out the top five with 1,562 new claims.
Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said the Georgia Unemployment Trust Fund has about $2.5 billion in it.
“For right now, we’re in good shape,” Butler said.
During the recession a decade ago, the trust fund did run out of money, but the state was able to borrow to meet the needs of the time.
“There is no reason for anybody to be panicked or to be worried that we’re not going to be able to pay unemployment benefits because we ran out of money,” Butler said.
The commissioner said the state has done an excellent job of taking the trust fund to the $2.5 billion-level as the economy has flourished in recent years.
Across the entire region, 23,682 claims were filed last month, up 679% from March a year ago. On a percentage basis, Coastal Georgia took the hardest hit with new unemployment claims up by more than 3,100% from the previous year.
Missy Kendrick, president of the Rome Floyd County
Development Authority, said she simply does not have a good feel for what sectors of the economy are suffering the most.
“I think the UI claims are coming from every sector, not just service, not just industry,” Kendrick said.