The COVID-19 Pandemic has wreaked havoc on Georgia’s unemployment numbers.  After the state having record low unemployment for many consecutive months, the state continues to see the number of first-time unemployment claims rise in the face of businesses struggling to catch up after the state-wide shutdown due to the pandemic. Chattooga County is no exception. 

Numbers released by the Georgia Department of Labor last week show that Chattooga County’s unemployment rose sharply from March to April as many were laid off due to the coronavirus and its affects.

Chattooga County saw 709 new unemployment claims for the month of April – that’s an increase of 641 claims over the month of March.

Georgia Department of Labor Commissioner Mark Butler says that while we may still see some high unemployment numbers over the next few months, he does expect the situation to level out by the end of the year.