New numbers show some progress in job hiring in Georgia

ATLANTA — There is some good news from Georgia’s labor department.

The state released new numbers Thursday that shows a significant jump in hiring during the month of July.

Jobs were up by nearly 44,000 when compared to June. Also, claims for unemployment assistance dropped by 19 percent in July, according to the GDOL.

But this doesn’t mean that we’re out of the woods.

The unemployment rate stayed the same, 7.6 percent of Georgians still need a job. A year ago, the rate was 3.4 percent.

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“Although the unemployment rate remained steady in July, it is promising to see positive growth in critical indicators like employment and jobs,” said Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. “While we are still focused on helping Georgians who are unemployed due to the pandemic, at the same time we have started to pivot to help Georgia’s businesses fill the tens of thousands of jobs as we continue to reopen and put Georgians back to work.”

State Labor Commissioner explains how unemployment benefit president ordered will work Channel 2's Jorge Estevez spoke with Mark Butler from the Department of Labor.

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