The coronavirus has pulled the rug out of the Carpet Capital, cutting employment in the Dalton area to one of its lowest points in nearly five and a half years.
The Georgia Department of Labor said today that a record 3,509 workers in the metro Dalton counties of Whitfield and Murray filed initial claims for jobless benefits during March due to temporary layoffs caused by business shutdowns designed to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus. More such claims are expected to be filed in April when thousands more jobs were temporarily cut in the region, including major plant suspensions in April by Shaw Industries, Mohawk Industries and Engineered Floors, among other floorcovering companies.
The number of workers on the job last month in Dalton fell by 1,068, or 1.9%, compared with a year ago as stay-at-home orders began to be issued in March and were expanded in early April.
But Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp this week rolled out aggressive plans to reopen the state's economy, allowing gyms, hair salons, bowling alleys and tattoo parlors to reopen Friday - as long as owners follow strict social distancing and hygiene requirements. By Monday, movie theaters may resume selling tickets and restaurants limited to takeout orders can go back to limited dine-in service.
As part of the state's efforts to boost employment and maintain income while fighting the coronavirus, Georgia also is temporarily relaxing its rules that limit how much you can earn while still getting jobless benefits and looking for another job or waiting for your current job to return.
"Thanks to Gov. Kemp and his support, we were able to issue an emergency rule that increased the earnings exemption amount from $55 to $300 allowing individuals to make $300 a week without reducing their weekly benefit amount," Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said. "If a business opens back up slowly and their employees are returning to work with reduced hours, employers can continue to file employer-filed partial claims on behalf of their employees."
Kemp said he is eager to reopen the state's economy and get Georgians back to work.
"As we take measured steps to reopen sectors of our state's economy, it is vital that we continue to support Georgians trying to re-enter the workforce," Kemp said. "Commissioner Butler and the Department of Labor are working around the clock to do just that. Their action under historic circumstances will continue to give our state's workforce viable options to put food on the table for their families as we fight COVID-19 together."
State job figures released today show that unemployment in metropolitan Dalton rose last month to 5.1%, up from 4.4% in February and 4.6% a year ago. The jobless rate is expected to rise even more in April, although it is still far below the 13.6% jobless rate reached in metro Dalton in January 2011.
With the exception of a post-holiday drop in jobs at carpet mills in January, the number of employed persons in the 2-county metro Dalton area fell during March to its lowest level since October 2014. More layoffs are likely in April as the effects of the COVID-19-related shutdowns continue to reverberate through the economy.
"Although we are seeing the effects of COVID-19 throughout the state in spikes in unemployment, we are working very diligently to come up with solutions to get Georgians back to work as soon as it is safe to do so," Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said in a report today on the increased jobless claims.
Dalton finished the month with 55,627 employed residents. That number decreased by 937 over the month and is down by 1,068 when compared to the same time a year ago.
Despite the job losses, there are still open positions in Dalton, according to the Georgia Department of Labor's job listing service.
The department's website employgeorgia.com showed about 666 active job postings in metro Dalton for March and the state currently is listing 114,381 available jobs across all of Georgia.