Colquitt County Weathering the
Economic Storm
Moultrie Tech enrollment possibly up due in part to high unemployment numbers
MOULTRIE — The 6.5 percent September unemployment rate in Colquitt County matches the national rate for October as the economic downturn hits home. However, Moultrie and Colquitt County seem to have fared better than some area towns with no major layoffs reported and no industries having shut down here.
The preliminary numbers for September are up slightly from the 6.4 percent unemployment rate in the county, and up from 4.6 percent the previous September. October unemployment numbers will be released Thanksgiving week, said Ed Hall, a Georgia Department of Labor spokesman in Atlanta.
Initial unemployment insurance claims also were up sharply from the previous year, increasing from 193 in September 2007 to 246 in September, a 27.5 percent jump, according to Labor Department statistics. The unemployment rate in the county has been at 5.3 percent or greater each month of the year except April, when it dipped to 4.9 percent, and was 5.9 percent in June.
There have been no large layoffs among manufacturers here, although there have been in Dougherty, Thomas and Tift counties that could have affected workers from Colquitt County, said Darrell Moore, president of the Moultrie-Colquitt County Development Authority. State agencies also have been affected by a hiring freeze that prohibits them from filling positions, and some private companies could have initiated similar policies, Moore said.
“It’s probably just a combination of a lot of different factors,” he said. “I can’t think of any one thing to attribute it to, just a lot of small things contributed to the increase.”
The largest single event that Moore recalls that occurred recently is the closing of Moultrie Chevrolet and the ensuing loss of 30 or 40 jobs.
Moultrie Technical College had the largest enrollment in its history for the fall quarter, and among those are likely some people who have been put out of work and are looking to acquire additional skills, said Jana Wiggins, director of marketing and public relations.
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Click here to read the article written in its entirety by Moultrie Observer reporter Alan Mauldin and published on Tuesday, November 11, 2008.
