Chattooga had 2 percent fewer first-time unemployment claims in May than it did in April, according to the Georgia Department of Labor. That’s a decrease of 2, from 89 to 87. However, Chattooga’s initial claims increased 36 percent from May 2007, up 23 from 64 a year ago to 87 last month. That trend was repeated throughout the Coosa Valley area with the exception of Gordon County, which saw a 21 percent increase from April to May and a 96 percent increase from May 2007 to May 2008. Meanwhile, first time claims were down 13.4 percent statewide from April. Most of the decline in claims came in manufacturing industries. Initial claims in Georgia rose 10,168, or 29.4 percent over the year. Initial claims are considered to be a good barometer of economic activity because they measure newly unemployed workers. Northwest Georgia initial unemployment claimsMay 2008 April 2008     May 2007         Month change              Year changeBartow             574                  740       394                  -22.4%                         45.7%Catoosa           360                   454      156                   -20.7%                         130.8%Chattooga        87                    89        64                    -2.2%                           35.9%Floyd               755                   837       507                   -9.8%                           48.9%Gordon            810                   670      413                   20.9%                           96.1%Polk                 271                  597      174                  -54.6%                         55.7%Walker             577                   1,263    340                   -54.3%                         69.7%Whitfield          1,707                2,372    671                  -28.3%                          153.5%