The coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on Georgia’s economy, as almost 2 million Georgians have filed for unemployment. The unemployment rate in Georgia rose to an all time high in the month of April at 11.9%. The accomodation and food services industry was the most hard hit by the virus in terms of job losses.
​GA Unemployment Rate 2019 vs 2020

Georgia Initial Unemployment Claims per Week

Unemployment 11/2-11/6

Total preliminary initial unemployment claims were down -38% from the previous week, or down 14,127 claims since last week. Continuing claims dropped by 5%. Among the most improved industries were Retail Trade and Accommodation & Food Services.

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In the Press

Unemployment 10/26-10/30

Total preliminary initial unemployment claims were down -16% from the previous week. This is down 7,057 claims since last week. Among the most improved industries were Manufacturing, Transportation & Warehousing, and Accommodation and Food Services.

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Unemployment 10/19-10/23

Total preliminary initial unemployment claims were down just -3% from the previous week. This is down 1,530 claims since last week. Manufacturing and Transportation & Warehousing saw the highest increases in claims since last week. Meanwhile, Accommodation & Food Services and Retail Trade saw the largest improvements since last week.

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Unemployment 10/13-10/16

Total preliminary initial unemployment claims were down -19% from the previous week. This is down 10,131 claims since last week. All industries saw decreases in number of new weekly initial claims since last week, with Manufacturing and Transportation/Warehousing seeing the largest improvements. No industry saw more claims this week than last week.

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Unemployment 10/5-10/9

Total preliminary initial unemployment claims were up +19% from the previous week. This is up 53,400 claims since last week, marking the first major uptick in initial claims since July 11th. All industries saw increases in number of new weekly initial claims since last week, with Transportation and Warehousing being hit hardest with an 88% increase in claims since last week, and Manufacturing seeing a 52% increase. The only exception to this was Health Care and Social Assistance, who saw merely 5 less new claims from the week prior, but still saw 4,461 initial claims this week.

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Unemployment 9/28-10/2

Total preliminary initial unemployment claims were up +0.8% from the previous week. This is up 348 claims since last week, but marks the second increase in initial claims since May 9th, showing a slowdown in the trend of declination. The industry with the largest absolute uptick in new claims was Retail Trade, seeing a 31% increase in new claims, while the Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services industry saw a 46% increase in new weekly initial claims since last week. Meanwhile, Construction and Transportation & Warehousing both improved this week.

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Unemployment 9/21-9/25

Total preliminary initial unemployment claims were down 13% from the previous week. This is similar to the number of initial claims two weeks ago, which was 42,085 for the week ended September 11th. The industry with the largest upticks in new claims was Construction, seeing a 31% increase in new claims, while the Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation industry saw a 23% increase in new weekly initial claims since last week. Meanwhile, Retail Trade and Accommodation and Food Services both improved this week.

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Unemployment 9/14-9/18

Total preliminary initial unemployment claims were up 15% from the previous week. This is the first time since July 11th where there has been a weekly increase in the number of new initial claims. The industry with the largest upticks in new claims was Transportation and Warehousing, seeing a 105% increase in new claims, while the Retail Trade industry saw a 55% increase in new weekly initial claims since last week.

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Unemployment 9/7-9/11

Total preliminary initial unemployment claims were down 16% from the previous week. The industry with the largest upticks in new claims was Management of Companies and Enterprises, seeing a 10% increase in new claims, while the Retail Trade industry saw a 30% decrease in new weekly initial claims since last week. Overall, most industries significantly improved this week, with relatively very few new claims since last week.

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Unemployment 8/31-9/4

Total preliminary initial unemployment claims were down 2% from the previous week. The industry with the largest upticks in new claims was Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation, seeing a 29% increase in new claims, while the Real Estate and Rental and Leasing industry saw a 50% decrease in new weekly initial claims since last week.

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Photo of an undetermined Georgia Tech home game during the 1918 college football season. That's when the sport was hit by the Spanish flu and the end of World War I.

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