Unemployed Georgians Return to Work Sooner Than National Average

Georgia has the lowest number of people requesting state unemployment benefits in the South and nearly the lowest in the nation–second only to North Dakota, according to the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL).

Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Georgians stop their unemployment benefits sooner because the Department of Labor ties benefits to job training and re-employment services.

“When people think of a labor department, traditionally they think of the ‘unemployment office,’” Commissioner Butler said. “In Georgia, we are trying to stop that. This is an ‘employment office.’ We strive for that designation.”

As of December 2011, the average Georgian on state unemployment insurance stopped benefits after 13.3 weeks. Nationally, the average unemployed American stayed on state benefits for 17.4 weeks. Only North Dakota came in under Georgia. North Dakota's population is under 675,000 and it has no metro base that can compare to Georgia’s.

In Georgia, the unemployed can stay on state benefits for 26 weeks before federal benefits begin.

The GDOL holds career expos and hiring events in conjunction with employers and staffing agencies. The labor department works directly with companies who have jobs to fill. It also steps in immediately when a company faces a lay-off to help the newly unemployed receive benefits, if they are eligible, and begin the process of finding another job.

For a list of upcoming career expos, click to http://www.dol.state.ga.us/Access/Service/ListCurrentJobFairs.