Georgia may see some permanent job loss
Thursday, June 17th, 2010It is seen that half of the unemployed in Georgia have been jobless now for more than six months. As per the data compiled by Georgia Department of Labor, men have been unemployed longer than women and whites longer than blacks.
The jobless may face the worse yet as the unemployment benefits have not yet been extended by the Congress. An estimate of 5000 people could lose their unemployment benefits soon.
As per news reports, many of the jobs once held by the long-term unemployed — manufacturing, construction, information technology — may never return, creating, perhaps, a permanently unemployed class of worker.
If you want to know more about the unemployment claims of Georgia, then refer the Georgia unemployment guide.
In Georgia, 498,700 people were unemployed in April, the labor department reports. More than 215,000 — or 43.1 percent — have been unable to find work for a minimum of 27 weeks.
Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said that it’s a hidden crisis because the plight of the long-term unemployed is often lost in the celebration of the decline in the unemployment rate. He also said that while that’s good news, it’s really not having an impact on those who’ve been unemployed longer and are most in need of a job.
Many economists doubt that the pace of economic growth — 3 percent the last quarter — will create enough jobs for the 15.3 million unemployed. It takes that amount of GDP growth just to keep up with the U.S. population increase.