The word from the “experts” is that the recession is over. But somebody forgot to tell Main Street where, in Coweta County and across Georgia, the unemployment figures released last week by the Georgia Dept. of Labor tell a strikingly different story.
The jobless rate in Coweta rose again last month, with DOL figures showing an unemployment rate of 9.4 percent. That compares to the 9.2 percent rate in July. A year ago the rate was 9.6 percent.
Coweta has a workforce of 58,561. Of those, DOL reports that 5,523 are out of work.
Newnan’s jobless rate also took a hit in August. The unemployment rate went from 10.4 percent in July to 10.5 percent in August. That represents 1,383 people out of a job in a workforce of 13,125.
The unemployment situation in the Three Rivers region also worsened in August. The jobless rate was tracked at 11.1 percent, up from 10.8 percent in July substantially better than the 11.7 rate in August 2009.
And across Georgia, the nation’s ninth most populous state (2009 Census estimate) in August recorded an unemployment rate of 10 percent, up from 9.9 percent in July and 10 percent in August 2009. The 10 percent figure represents 466,930 people out of work.
Also showing no improvement last month was the jobless outlook across the United States. The unemployment in August at at 9.6 percent, up from 9.5 percent in July and down from 9.7 percent in August 2009.
The current national figures translate into 14.86 million people without jobs in a workforce of 154.1 million.
The whole story of unemployment resides beyond the figures supplied in the monthly statistics. Official unemployment rates listed across America by states and the federal government do not account for those no longer looking for work and those who are underemployed by taking part-time jobs.
