Thursday, Mar. 9, 2023–1:36 p.m.

-David Crowder, WRGA News-

First-time claims for unemployment insurance were up in Floyd County to start 2023.

According to the Georgia Department of Labor, there were 933 initial claims filed in January, up from 555 in December of 2022. That’s an increase of 68%. There were 333 claims filed in January of last year.

Bartow County went from 356 to 1,064 claims from December to January.

Gordon County was up from 567 to 857.

Polk County went from 140 to 362 during the same time period.

Chattooga County’s claims actually fell, with 234 in January, down from 401 in December.

Employment in the Rome area decreased to start the year with 43,800 jobs in January, down from 44,300 in December.

However, the Rome area still has 2,800 more jobs when compared to January of 2022.