AUGUSTA, Ga. – The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits continues to rise, according to the latest Labor Department numbers, which show 2.1 million workers filed jobless claims last week.
Statistics show about 21 million Americans are collecting benefits now.
The U.S. job loss total from the economic turmoil of the coronavirus pandemic now sits at 40 million.
Here’s a closer look at employment in our area:
Georgia
Labor officials say jobless claims throughout the state hit 165,000, with unemployment numbers at a reported all-time high across all categories. New jobless claims have gone down in Augusta. The overall unemployment rate for Augusta at the end of the month was 10.6 percent.
South Carolina
Labor officials say they got about 25,000 jobless claims statewide last week. Just like in Georgia, that number has declined in recent weeks. Our South Carolina local counties only accounted for a small part of it. About 530 of new unemployment claims came from Aiken County, and about 300 came from McCormick, Edgefield and Barnwell counties.
