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April jobless numbers drop a little in area
BIZcoastaljoblessapril
Staff Report
Updated: May 29, 2010, 1:45 PM
Published: May 29, 2010, 1:50 PM
ATLANTA - The preliminary, unadjusted unemployment rate in Coastal Georgia declined to 8.6 percent in April, down six-tenths of a percentage point in March, according to the Georgia Department of Labor.
That is below numbers statewide. The DOL reported the seasonally adjusted statewide rate declined to 10.4 percent in April, down one-tenth of a percentage point from a revised 10.5 percent in March.
In the Coastal region, the revised March rate was 9.2 percent. In Savannah, the numbers were 8.3 percent in April, down five-tenths of a percentage point from a revised 8.8 percent in March.
This is the 31st consecutive month Georgia has exceeded the national jobless rate, which is now 9.9 percent. The state's April jobless rate was up 1.2 percentage points from 9.2 percent at this same time last year.
The number of unemployed workers in the metro area decreased to 2,619 down 157 from 2,776 in March. The number of unemployed workers in the region decreased to 27,143 down 1,670 from 28,813 in March. The jobless rate in the Coastal area in April 2009 was 7.6 percent.
Statewide, 60,661 laid-off workers filed initial claims, a decline of 23,685, or 28.1 percent, from 84,346 filed in April 2009. Most of the first time claims were filed in trade, manufacturing, construction, and administrative and support services.
The state showed a modest increase in new jobs in April for the third consecutive month. The number of jobs increased 26,900, or seven-tenths of a percentage point, from 3,794,700 in March to 3,821,600. However, the number of jobs remains less than in April 2009, when there were 3,912,700 payroll jobs, 2.3 percent or 91,100 more than this year.
Local area unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted. Georgia labor market data are available at www.dol.state.ga.us.

 


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Record April boosts Savannah's container trade at port
GardenCityTerminal
The Port of Savannah moved 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units in April, an increase of 7.1 percent. - photo by Provided
Bryan County News
Updated: May 23, 2018, 1:59 AM
Published: May 23, 2018, 2:00 AM

The Georgia Ports Authority's busiest April ever pushed its fiscal year-to-date totals to more than 3.4 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), an increase of 8.8 percent, or 280,000 TEUs, compared to the first 10 months of fiscal 2017.

"We're on track to move more than 300,000 TEUs in every month of the fiscal year, which will be a first for the authority," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "We're also anticipating this to be the first fiscal year for the Port of Savannah to handle more than 4 million TEUs."

April volumes reached 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units, up 7.1 percent or 23,700 units. As the fastest growing containerport in the nation, the Port of Savannah has achieved a compound annual growth rate of more than 5 percent a year over the past decade.

"As reported in the recent economic impact study by UGA's Terry College of Business, trade through Georgia's deepwater ports translates into jobs, higher incomes and greater productivity," said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. "In every region of Georgia, employers rely on the ports of Savannah and Brunswick to help them become more competitive on the global stage."

To strengthen the Port of Savannah's ability to support the state's future economic growth, the GPA Board approved $66 million in terminal upgrades, including $24 million for the purchase of 10 additional rubber-tired gantry cranes.  

"The authority is committed to building additional capacity ahead of demand to ensure the Port of Savannah remains a trusted link in the supply chain serving Georgia and the Southeast," Lynch said.

The crane purchase will bring the fleet at Garden City Terminal to 156 RTGs. The new cranes will support three new container rows, which the board approved in March. The additional container rows will increase annual capacity at the Port of Savannah by 150,000 TEUs.

The RTGs will work over stacks that are five containers high and six deep, with a truck lane running alongside the stacks. Capable of running on electricity, the cranes will have a lift capacity of 50 metric tons.

The cranes will arrive in two batches of five in the first and second quarters of calendar year 2019.

 Also at Monday's meeting, the GPA Board elected its officers, with Jimmy Allgood as chairman, Will McKnight taking the position of vice chairman and Joel Wooten elected as the next secretary/treasurer.

For more information, visit gaports.com, or contact GPA Senior Director of Corporate Communications Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or rmorris@gaports.com.

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