Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Northeast Georgia’s unemployment rate spiked in April, reaching an all-time high.

Due to the effects of COVID-19, all regions and counties throughout the state saw a dramatic incline in initial claims along with the unemployment rate.

“Although we are seeing all-time high unemployment rates across a majority of the state, we are continuing to work with employers on effective strategies to get Georgians back to work in both a safe and economically efficient way,” said Butler.

In Northeast Georgia, the unemployment rate increased in April to 11.6 percent, an increase of 7.3 percentage points. A year ago, the rate was 3 percent.    

The number of unemployment claims dramatically increased by 315 percent in April due to COVID-19 lay-offs. When compared to last April, claims were up by about 8,245 percent. 

The labor force decreased in April by 17,999. The April total was 289,368. That number is down by 13,041 from the total from April 2018. 

Northeast Georgia ended April with 255,730 employed residents.  The number decreased by 38,549 in April and was down 37,728 as compared to last year.

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.comshowed 3,363 active job postings in Northeast Georgia for April.