Mark Butler
Marcellus Rowe, 29, talks about the prospect of losing federal unemployment aid at a protest outside the Georgia Department of Labor, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in Atlanta. Rowe says he's not sure how he will pay his rent and utilities without the aid. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)
As Georgia quits federal jobless aid, many to lose payments

By Jeff Amy Jun. 24, 2021 04:45 PM EDT

Georgia jobless rate falls to 4.1% in 13th straight decline

Jun. 17, 2021 06:27 PM EDT
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's jobless rate continued to fall in May, dropping closer to where it was before the pandemic sent it soaring to an all-time high. ...

Georgia moves to further crimp jobless aid later this month

By Jeff Amy Jun. 10, 2021 04:23 PM EDT
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgians receiving unemployment benefits will once again be required to look for work and will be able to earn less before unemployment...

A woman wearing a face mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus takes photo of fake flowers at the GUM, the State Department store, near Red Square in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 10, 2021. The Russian authorities reported a spike in coronavirus infections on Thursday, with new confirmed cases exceeding 11,000 for the first time since March. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
The Latest: Illinois lifting capacity limits for businesses

By The Associated Press Jun. 10, 2021 06:41 AM EDT

Georgia jobless rate falls to 4.3% in 12th straight decline

May. 20, 2021 03:28 PM EDT
ATLANTA (AP) — What a difference a year makes for Georgia's unemployment rates. In April 2020, amid a huge wave of pandemic induced layoffs...

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp walks to board an airplane Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in Chamblee, Ga. Kemp announced he was suspending state taxes on gasoline and diesel through Saturday to give price relief following a pipeline outage. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)
Kemp: Georgia to cut jobless benefits to push people to work

By Jeff Amy May. 13, 2021 11:55 AM EDT

FILE - In this Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010, file photo, then-Republican candidate for Georgia commissioner of labor, Mark Butler, center, talks to supporters during an election-night party, in Atlanta. Butler, Georgia’s labor commissioner, says he’s considering cutting federal benefits to workers in an effort to push them back to work. Butler and Gov Brian Kemp met Monday, May 10, 2021, and discussed possibilities such as cutting the $300-a-week federal supplement to unemployed workers or cutting off federal benefits to people not usually eligible for state unemployment. (AP Photo/John Amis, File)
Georgia could cut jobless benefits to push more toward work

By Jeff Amy May. 11, 2021 12:59 AM EDT

Georgia: Jobless must soon seek work to keep benefits

May. 08, 2021 12:46 PM EDT
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's elected labor commissioner said he intends to reinstate the requirement that people must actively search for work to receive...

Georgia State Sen. Mike Dugan (R-Carrollton) presents Senate Bill 241, which changes Georgia's voting laws, Monday, March 8, 2021, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)
Deadline day arrives to decide fate of Georgia legislation

Mar. 08, 2021 04:39 PM EST

Georgia State Senator Butch Miller, of Gainesville, Ga., speaks on the legislative session's first day on Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Bills pile up for Georgia lawmakers as key deadline looms

By Jeff Amy Feb. 28, 2021 09:55 AM EST

Arnashia McCain uses her phone to copy phone numbers posted on the locked doors of a Georgia Department of Labor office Thursday, May 7, 2020, in Norcross Ga. McCain, who said she drives for Lyft and has had her hours cut in her job in retail, has been unable check on the status of her her unemployment claim. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Lawmakers angry over jobless benefits aim at labor chief

By Jeff Amy Feb. 24, 2021 09:42 AM EST

FILE - In this Oct. 17, 2010, file photo, Georgia Labor Commissioner Republican candidate Mark Butler smikles during a televised debate in Atlanta. Georgia could allow unemployed people to earn up to $300 a week while keeping their full unemployment benefits and pay up to 26 weeks of benefits under a bill that has passed the General Assembly. (AP Photo/Rich Addicks, File)
Georgia job market mixed; Kemp spends cash to stop tax hike

By Jeff Amy Jan. 21, 2021 02:48 PM EST

Georgia jobless rate plunges in October as more find jobs

By Jeff Amy Nov. 19, 2020 04:47 PM EST
ATLANTA (AP) — Many more people found jobs in Georgia in October as the state's unemployment rate decreased sharply. The state's jobless...

Georgia to help troubleshoot jobless claims after complaints

Oct. 29, 2020 06:29 PM EDT
ATLANTA (AP) — After months of complaints from people who have struggled to file unemployment claims, Georgia officials announced Thursday that they would...

FILE - In this Oct. 17, 2010, file photo, Georgia Labor Commissioner Republican candidate Mark Butler smikles during a televised debate in Atlanta. Georgia could allow unemployed people to earn up to $300 a week while keeping their full unemployment benefits and pay up to 26 weeks of benefits under a bill that has passed the General Assembly. (AP Photo/Rich Addicks, File)
Kemp to spend $1.5B in aid to bail out unemployment system

By Jeff Amy Oct. 14, 2020 06:55 PM EDT

FILE - In this Oct. 17, 2010, file photo, Georgia Labor Commissioner Republican candidate Mark Butler smikles during a televised debate in Atlanta. Georgia could allow unemployed people to earn up to $300 a week while keeping their full unemployment benefits and pay up to 26 weeks of benefits under a bill that has passed the General Assembly. (AP Photo/Rich Addicks, File)
Georgia lawmakers approve more generous jobless benefits

By Jeff Amy Jun. 24, 2020 03:14 PM EDT

Georgia jobless rate falls in May as some return to work

By Jeff Amy Jun. 18, 2020 07:00 PM EDT
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's jobless rate fell to 9.7% in May from 12.6% in April as nearly 150,000 workers reported being back on the job. The...

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Terry England speaks to reporters Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020, at the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta, after his committee passed an amended midyear budget. The spending plan shifts tens of millions to lawmakers' priorities from Gov. Brian Kemp's plan (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)
Georgia budget proposals would cut workers, reduce services

By Jeff Amy May. 21, 2020 01:32 PM EDT

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks during a news conference at the Capitol building in Atlanta, Monday, April 27, 2020, during the coronavirus outbreak. Kemp did not say whether he would extend the shelter-in-place order that is set to expire at midnight Thursday. (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Some Georgians forget jobless benefit claims as filings rise

By Jeff Amy And Jeff Martin May. 14, 2020 12:21 PM EDT

Hairstylist Lacey Ward poses for a photo at the Grey House Salon she co-owns, in Omaha, Neb., Thursday, April 30, 2020. Ward is worried that reopening the salon could force her into a position that puts her, her husband and their two young sons at risk. She said she filed for unemployment in mid-March but is still waiting for the first payment, forcing her to drain her family's savings and increasing the pressure she feels to return to work. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
Workers must risk infection or losing unemployment payments

By Jeff Amy And Adrian Sainz Apr. 30, 2020 02:46 PM EDT