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State jobless rate over 10% in December
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A Georgia Department of Labor listing tracks job movements over 2010 in the major metropolitan areas of state.

ATLANTA — State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 10.2 percent in December, up two-tenths of a percentage point from a revised 10 percent in November. The preliminary November rate of 10.1 percent reported last month has been revised downward by one-tenth of a percentage point. The rate was 10.3 percent in December 2009. This is the 39th consecutive month Georgia has exceeded the national unemployment rate, which is currently 9.4 percent.
In December, the number of payroll jobs decreased 21,800, or six-tenths of a percentage point, to 3,827,200 from 3,849,000 in November. Most of the decreases came in construction, leisure and hospitality, the public schools, professional and business services, and wholesale trade. And, the number of jobs remains 7,800, or two-tenths of a percentage point, fewer than in December 2009, when there were 3,835,000 payroll jobs.
“The increase in unemployment and job loss in December is continued evidence that Georgia’s job market is fragile,” Butler said. “Sustained improvement will come only when employers begin adding jobs and increase hiring. In the coming months, we will work closely with Georgia’s employers, private and public sector economic developers, and the General Assembly to spur existing business expansion and to attract new industry to our state.”
There were 259,200 long-term unemployed Georgians in December (those who have been out of work for 27 weeks or longer). This represents an increase of 7,000, or 2.8 percent, from 252,200 long-term unemployed in November and an increase of 91,000, or 54.1 percent, from 168,200 in December 2009. The long-term unemployed now account for 54.1 percent of the 478,833 jobless workers in Georgia.
Also, 75,635 laid-off workers filed initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits in December, an increase of 7,921, or 11.7 percent, from 67,714 in November. However, there was an over-the-year decrease of 25,261 initial claims, or 25 percent, from 100,896 filed in December 2009. Most of the first-time claims were filed in manufacturing, trade, construction, and administrative and support services.

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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

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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