Politics & Government

GDOL Offers Online Employment Help Chat for Veterans

This comes on the heals of the unemployment rate in Georgia going up in September to the highest its been since January.

The Georgia Department of Labor will host an online chat about “Services for Veterans” from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the GDOL website on Wednesday, Oct. 26.  

“This live chat will help veterans and the employers that hire them learn more about the many programs and services available to them from the Georgia Department of Labor,” state Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said in a recent press release.

The 90-minute, question-and-answer chat is called “Ask T.E.D.” (Type, Explore, Discover). During the chat, information will be provided to veterans on career and employment counseling, referral to training and supportive services, and qualifications for special programs, as well as veterans’ benefits, rights and job preferences. Information will also be available to employers on tax credits and business incentives to hire veterans.

Questions may be submitted in advance on Facebook and Twitter at @GeorgiaDOL, and those questions will be answered during the chat. To sign up for a reminder, or sign into the chat on the day of the event, go to the Spotlight or Quick Links sections on the GDOL website.

This comes on the heals of last week’s release of seasonally adjusted unemployment numbers for Georgia indicating another raise in the unemployment rate to 10.3 percent for September – its highest level since January and higher than it was last year, which was 10.2 percent. The rate in August also was 10. 2 percent.

According to the GDOL, the rate increased is due to Georgia losing jobs in September and many new job seekers continuously being unable to find work. The number of jobs in Georgia decreased 15,100 from August to 3,793,200. Most of the loss was among seasonal workers in leisure and hospitality. However, Butler said there were some positive economic signs in this report.

“One positive is fewer layoffs, which results in a smaller quantity of initial unemployment claims,” he said.

Additional information from the GDOL included the following:

While there were 3,200 new jobs in professional and business services, 400 in manufacturing, as well as seasonal gains in state and local public schools, there weren’t enough to offset the overall losses.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits in September decreased to 51,267, down 5,209, or 9.2 percent, from 56,476 in August. Most of the first-time claims were filed in trade, manufacturing, administrative and support services, and construction. There was an over-the-year decrease of 5,879 initial claims, or 10.3 percent, from 57,146 filed in September of last year.

The number of long-term unemployed workers increased 2,800 to 256,900, or 8.6 percent higher than in September of last year. The long-term unemployed account for 52.7 percent of Georgia’s 487,471 jobless workers. September is the 50th consecutive month Georgia has exceeded the national unemployment rate, which is currently 9.1 percent.

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