By Tiffany Simmons
News 3 on Your Side, Georgia Department of Labor
The last time Georgia's unemployment rate reached this level was in March of 1993.News 3 on Your Side, Georgia Department of Labor
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Stumble It!The numbers tell the story.
The Georgia department of labor says the state's jobless rate rose 6.3% in August; that's up almost 2 % from the same period last year.
Also in august, the number of payroll jobs dropped by more than 37,000 from the year before.
The national unemployment rate is 6.1 percent. Currently, more than 310,000 unemployed Georgians are looking for work.
We spoke with one Columbus resident who's been unemployed for about a year. She says she's frustrated but hasn't given up.
Talking with staffers at the Columbus career center has become a regular routine for this mother of two.
“I come down here to the unemployment office on a regular, get on the computers and see what else is out there.”
Venus Stafford has been searching for a job for over a year, and the state of the economy is no help to her situation.
“I'm very frustrated right about now because it's a lot of things that I've got to take care of not necessarily wants but a lot of needs.”
And one of those needs happened to be right by her side as she filled out applications.
“This is why we need to stay in school and get good grades,” she tells her daughter.
But Stafford says having a good education isn't always the ticket to getting a job. She's attended numerous job fairs and has come across people from various backgrounds.
“There are people that have degrees on top of degrees and still, they're in the same boat I'm in.”
And the mere talk of thousands of potential jobs coming to this area, gives Stafford little comfort.
“There's some coming but right now is what we need, I need something now.”
While she waits she says she'll continue to pray to God.
“He's gonna put me in a position where this person might not even be hiring but it'll be just my day.”
This is why despite her frustration she won’t quit searching.
"I haven't given up hope you know but I have been down, yes.”
