MOULTRIE — The unemployment rate in Southwest Georgia hit 9.3 percent in February, as 87 of the state’s counties had double-digit jobless rates, the Georgia Department of Labor reported Thursday.
In Colquitt County the February rate was 9 percent in February, up 0.9 percent from an adjusted rate of 8.1 percent in January, the Department of Labor said.
Meanwhile there were glimmers of hope to be mined out of economic information, including an increase in home sales and orders of durable goods in February.
Ron Wilkerson, owner of Colquitt Insulation of Southwest Georgia in Pavo, said that work has picked up from the beginning of the year. After cutting back on the number of work crews due to the economic downturn, he has hired back another crew due to an increase in construction jobs for which contractors need insulation work.
“We had ran real strong with four crews the last four or five years,” he said. “We cut back to two. I’m back up to three now.
“(Business) was probably off about a third, especially if you take into consideration the last few months of last year and first few months of this year. Right now it appears to be picking up.”
Although Wilkerson has seen an improvement over the last six weeks — including one contractor with whom he works starting an 8,000-square-foot home — he is not sure the recovery is permanent.
There are number of new home projects for the company, but the amount of work varies.
“You never know from day to day,” Wilkerson said. “I’m going to be honest, my confidence is in the Lord. As far as depending on the Dow Jones and the rest of the government and the economy, I don’t know.”
The Obama administration announced Thursday $67.1 million in money available in Georgia for use for energy efficiency and conservation, and Wilkerson said that may help.
“There are incentives in the new program to change the windows out,” he said. “Even with the incentives, people have to spend money. If they were going to be doing it anyway, it’s a good time to do it.”
Among other nearby counties, Brooks had the lowest unemployment rate for February at 8.3 percent, with Cook posting the highest at 13.7 percent. The unemployment rate was 9.2 percent in Mitchell County and 8.6 percent in Thomas County.
Colquitt County’s 9 percent February unemployment rate is up 3.7 percent from the revised 5.3 percent in February 2008.
The counties included by the Department of Labor in the 9.3 percent unemployment rate for Southwest Georgia are: Baker, Calhoun, Colquitt, Decatur, Dougherty, Early, Grady, Lee, Miller, Mitchell, Seminole, Terrell, Thomas and Worth.
Among those counties, Lee County had the lowest February unemployment rate at 6.7 percent, tied with Long County as the second-lowest in the state.
Jenkins County recorded the highest unemployment rate in February in the state at 21.3 percent, while Oconee County was the lowest at 6 percent.
The Department of Labor said that 445,498 Georgians are looking for work, an increase of 69.2 percent over the year.
“The latest local unemployment rates reflect the severity of the ongoing recession in Georgia,” Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said. “In 87 of our state’s 159 counties, double-digit unemployment is a sobering reality. A rising tide of joblessness is spreading across our state.”
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