General

Initial Unemployment Claims

Preliminary initial unemployment claims for the week ended September 25th were 43,072, which is down 6,349 claims, or -13%, from the revised initial unemployment claims number of 49,421 for the previous week, ending September 18th.

This is similar to the number of initial claims two weeks ago, which was 42,085 for the week ended September 11th. Last week had the first uptick in initial claims seen since May 9th. Before that, claims were steadily declining since May.

The highest weekly claims were filed the week ended April 4th, at 390,130. Just three weeks earlier, claims were at 5,447 for the week ended March 14th.

Insured Unemployment

Preliminary insured unemployment for the week ended September 25th was at 482,075. This is down 54,811 from the previous week’s revised insured unemployment number of 536,886 for the week ended September 18th, a 10% increase.

Insured unemployment is also referred to as continued claims, which occur when an individual has already previously filed an initial claim, experienced another week of unemployment, and is now filing a continued claim to claim benefits for that week of unemployment.

By Industry

Most Improved Industries this Week

The industries in Georgia are said to improving when they see declines in initial unemployment claims since last week. The following are the most improved since last week:

• Retail Trade: 1,207 less new claims, -26% from last week
• Accommodation and Food Services: -2,858 less new claims, -22% from last week
• Manufacturing: -401 less new claims, -10% from last week

Most Declining Industries this Week

The industries with the largest increases in weekly initial unemployment claims are said to be declining. The following are the most declined since last week:

• Construction: 341 more new claims, 31% increase since last week
• Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation: 258 more new claims, 23% increase since last week