ATLANTA --- Georgia's unemployment rate climbed to its highest point in 15 years last month, according to statistics released Thursday, and the state's top labor official expects it's not finished climbing.
Unemployment rose to 6.2 percent in July as cutbacks in manufacturing and other largely blue-collar sectors gained speed across the state, the state Department of Labor said.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate climbed six-tenths of one percent from 5.6 percent between June and July. Georgia lost 46,600 payroll jobs during that time, primarily in manufacturing, construction, trade and services.
Initial unemployment insurance claims, meanwhile, rose by 30 percent in July to 59,165. Labor officials consider the numbers a major economic indicator and a direct reflection of the tough times facing many Georgians.
"We're in the midst of an extended economic downturn, and I don't think we're near the end," State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said Thursday. "I expect the unemployment rate to continue to rise throughout this year and into 2009."
Mr. Thurmond blamed factors affecting the entire nation: astronomical gas prices, the credit crunch and especially the ongoing housing slump.
Augusta saw its work force shrink by 1.7 percent, the Department of Labor reported. Nationally, the unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in July.
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