Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Columbus’ unemployment rate spiked in April, breaking all previous all-time highs.

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

 “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 Columbus, the unemployment rate increased 7.5 percentage points in April, reaching 12.2 percent. A year ago, the rate was 3.6 percent.

The number of unemployment claims went up by 288 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 5,036 percent.

Columbus ended April with 109,100 jobs. That number decreased by 12,500 from March to April and was down by 13,800 when compared to this time last year. 

The labor force decreased in April by 8,209 and ended the month with 114,859. That number is down 8,361 when compared to April of 2019. 

Columbus finished the month with 100,796 employed residents.  That number decreased by 16,476 over the month and is down by 17,959 when compared to the same time a year ago. 

Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed about 2,231 active job postings in metro Columbus for April.