Georgia’s jobs picture continues to be a muddy one, as the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits was slightly larger in October than the number of claims filed during the previous month.

There were 70,597 initial claims for jobless benefits filed by laidoff workers last month, compared to 66,614 such claims in September, according to numbers released Thursday by the Georgia Labor Department.

The October total represented a slight improvement over the number for October 2008, when 72,627 initial claims were filed. But the average length of time Georgia workers drew jobless benefits increased from 11.6 weeks in October 2008 to 14.4 weeks in October 2009.

“The October jobless claims report provides a revealing snapshot of the condition of Georgia’s job market and viability of the nascent economic recovery,” Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said.

“Most striking is the lack of improvement in initial claims, which showed a decline of only 2.8 percent over the year,” he said. “This is a stark reminder that job losses are continuing at rates comparable to those experienced at the height of the great recession.”

The number of people receiving state benefits rose 32.8 percent over the year, from 98,530 in October 2008 to 130,812 in October 2009. There are also 146,000 people receiving federally funded extended unemployment benefits.

The Labor Department said the bulk of the jobless claims in October were filed by workers in manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, construction, and administrative and support services.

© 2009 by Capitolimpact.com