Feb. 25--MOULTRIE -- The state's unemployment numbers for January, tentatively scheduled for release Thursday, are expected to contain more bad news.

The numbers for initial claims for unemployment insurance rose sharply for January compared to the previous January, which likely points to a disappointing report, Georgia Department of Labor spokesman Sam Hall said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Tuesday that employees' weekly wages declined by 0.1 percent from December to January.

The state unemployment figures likely will be released Thursday with county numbers tentatively scheduled to come out a week later.

In Colquitt County, initial unemployment insurance claims jumped to 970 for January, compared to 304 a year earlier. The claims also increased significantly from December, when 750 county residents filed for unemployment benefits.

For the state the initial claims climbed from 66,468 in the first month of 2008 to 120,139 in January 2009.

Looking at that trend, Hall said, "I would expect the unemployment rate to go up for January."

January also is the time that holiday workers hired for temporary jobs are reflected in unemployment numbers, Hall said.

The state's unemployment rate was 8.1 percent for December, the highest it has been in 26 years, the Department of Labor reported last month. The county's December rate was 7.5 percent, up from 6.8 percent in November.

Darrell Moore, president of the Moultrie-Colquitt County Development Authority, said that he is not aware of any significant layoffs here but that residents who work in nearby counties may have been affected by layoffs elsewhere.

"I was in Atlanta yesterday," he said. "I guess it's across the board. I don't think anybody's been immune to the problem."

So far the county's heavy involvement with food processing and agriculture has been somewhat of a cushion, Moore said.

Among the county's larger employers are chicken processor Sanderson Farms, which employs about 1,500 people, and National Beef, whose payroll is at about 500 to 550.

"Last time I looked we were faring better than much of the state and Southwest Georgia," he said. "Food-related industries aren't recession-proof, but they're recession-resistant. People may not buy that big-screen TV, but they're going to eat."

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