Floyd jobless claims hit 8-year low

The latest Georgia labor report shows a 12.5 percent drop in initial claims across Northwest Georgia.

The number of initial unemployment claims filed by Floyd County residents in April was the lowest in more than eight years.

First time claims fell from 576 in March to 385 in April, a 33.2- percent decline. Claims were down by 12.5 percent over the 15-county Northwest Georgia region from March to April.

The Floyd County figure is the lowest number of monthly first- time unemployment claims since 344 were filed in June of 2006.

A first- time, or initial, claim is one filed by someone who has not needed to use unemployment insurance benefits for at least 12 months.

The Georgia Department of Labor report released Thursday listed the state jobless rate at 7 percent in April. County- by- county unemployment numbers will be released next week.

The Department of Labor also reported that Floyd County gained 700 jobs — from 38,700 in April 2013 to 39,400 in April of 2014.

Major employment improvements were registered in the manufacturing and wholesale trade sectors, showing up as significant declines in claims from March to April.

First- time claims in the manufacturing sector were down by 109, while the wholesale trade sector had 106 fewer claims from March to April.

The construction and retail trade sectors reported slight increases in the number of claims filed, up by 19 and six respectively.