Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Macon’s initial claims for unemployment spiked in April.

Due to the effects of COVID-19, all MSA’s throughout the state saw a dramatic incline in initial claims along with all major sectors.

“Although we are seeing all-time high unemployment rates across a majority of the state, we are continuing to work with employers on effective strategies to get Georgians back to work in both a safe and economically efficient way,” said Butler.

In Macon, the unemployment rate increased 6.1 percentage points in April, reaching 10.7 percent. A year ago, the rate was 3.4 percent.

The number of unemployment claims went up by 290 percent in April, which directly correlated with the number of temporary and potentially permanent lay-offs associated with COVID-19. When compared to last April, claims were up by about 5,227 percent.

Macon ended April with 94,700 jobs. That number decreased by 8,000 from March to April and was down by 8,200 when compared to this time last year.

The labor force decreased in April by 6,257 and ended the month with 97,179. That number is down 5,013 when compared to April of 2019.

Macon finished the month with 86,765 employed residents. That number decreased by 11,866 over the month and is down by 11,982 when compared to the same time a year ago.

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed about 1,479 active job postings in metro Macon for April.