Rome, Coosa Valley unemployment rates continue to rise

State News

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June 25, 2009

Rome News-Tribune

Unemployment continued to rise in the area last month. Metro Rome’s unemployment rate rose from 10 percent in April to 10.4 percent in May. Meanwhile, the rate in the 10-county Coosa Valley region was up half a percentage point, from 10.1 to 10.6 percent.

Both local rates are higher than the statewide unemployment rate of 9.7 percent, the highest ever recorded in Georgia.

Unemployment has risen significantly locally and statewide in the past year. In May 2008, Rome’s unemployment rate was just 6.1 percent, while both Coosa Valley and the state of Georgia had a 5.9 percent unemployment rate.

In Rome, recent job cutbacks include Kmart, which laid off 80 workers when it closed its grocery section in April, and Advanced Steel, which has temporarily laid off 91 workers.

Last month, 463,883 unemployed Georgians were looking for work, an increase of 62 percent from May 2008. Of that number, 157,544, or 34 percent, are receiving state unemployment insurance benefits, while approximately another 90,000 are receiving federal extended benefits.