Statewide, 89,659 laid-off workers in Georgia filed initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits in January, an increase of 14,024, or 18.5 percent, from 75,635 filed in December; however, there was a decline of 5,605, or 5.9 percent, from 95,264 filed in January 2010.
The unemployment number in Chattooga County for December 2010 rose according to the report released by the Georgia Department of Labor on Wednesday.  The unemployment rate in Chattooga County rose from 12.0% in November 2010 to 14.3% in December of last year.  Chattooga County now has the tenth highest unemployment rate in the state out of 159 counties.
State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said, " I am concerned that the number of long-term unemployed Georgians continues to increase. This is a sure sign that the state’s job market remains soft.”