Lack of jobs still plagues county
By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor

For the second consecutive month, Jenkins County held the number one spot in unemployment rankings for the state. Although the county's unemployment rate dropped from 11.4 in October to 11.0 for the month of November, the rate was still the highest in the state. This compares to a rate of 5.5 for November 2006.

Georgia Department of Labor statistics indicate that 367 persons were unemployed during the month of November with 57 initial applications for unemployment being filed. This compares to 74 applications filed in December. The county's total labor force is listed at 3,325.

Other counties ranked among the highest in the state were Hancock, 9.3; Burke, 9.0 and Chattachoochee, 8.1 The rankings of surrounding counties were as follows: Bulloch, 3.7; Candler, 4.2; Emanuel, 5.9; and Screven 4.7.

The unemployment rate for the state was 4.2. This compares with 4.5 for the nation.

The attraction of new industries for the county has been named a top priority of the Jenkins County Commissioners, City of Millen, Millen-Jenkins County Chamber of Commerce and Jenkins County Industrial Development Authority. All have indicated that they are continuing to work toward achieving this goal.