County ranks second in unemployment
By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor

Jenkins County relinquished its hold on the number one ranking in the state for unemployment to Chattahoochee County for the month of February. The county's 14.1 rate earned it second place to Chattahoochee's rate of 14.5.

Jenkins County held the highest unemployment rankings in the state for the three previous months as follows: November, 11.0; December, 10.8; and January 14.0.

Figures released by the Georgia Department of Labor reveal that 68 initial unemployment claims were filed in the county during February and 149 claims were filed in March. Ratings for the month of March have not yet been released.

The unemployment rates of surrounding counties for the month of February were: Burke, 8.4; Bulloch, 4.8; Emanuel, 5.8; and Screven, 5.9.

The unemployment rate for the State of Georgia for the month of February was 5.3. However, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Georgia and Nevada reported the largest jobless rate increases among all the states from February 2007. Each increased 1.0 percentage point.

The national unemployment rate was 4.8.