(The Center Square) — Georgia ranks in the middle of the pack for its decreasing unemployment claims.
The Peach State ranked 30th, according to a new analysis from WalletHub.
Neighboring Tennessee (No. 12), Alabama (18), North Carolina (21) and Florida (23) saw a higher decrease in claims than Georgia, while South Carolina (41) did not. Overall, New Hampshire saw its claims decrease the most, while Massachusetts saw its claims decrease the least.
“Georgia is among the states where unemployment claims last week were higher than in the same week pre-pandemic, in 2019,” WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez told The Center Square. “The state had almost 7.5% more unemployment claims.
“At the same time, Georgia currently has 98 unemployment insurance initial claims per 100,000 people in the labor force, which is one of the highest numbers in the country,” Gonzalez added. “These numbers mean that the state has still not recovered and is dealing with an unemployment problem.”
Last month, Georgia officials said the number of jobs in the state hit an all-time high. The number of jobs increased by more than 12,000 between June and July and nearly 5% over the year.
Labor department officials said all the state’s regional commissions saw a drop in their unemployment rates in July. The state’s non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.9%, down from 3.3% in June and 4% in July 2021.
