With some of the economic relief provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act — particularly the extra $600 per week in federal aid — now in the rearview mirror, Americans across the country are wondering how they will make ends meet.

This is an extraordinarily difficult time for many, especially here in Georgia. Unemployment numbers are still staggering, despite some Georgians returning to work in the last few weeks and months. In previous posts, we’ve focused on topics pertaining to handling the COVID-19 pandemic as individuals and family units. In this post, we’re going to take a broader lens and look at our state and the nation as a whole. We’ll examine some of the most recent unemployment numbers in the country and Georgia more specifically. We’ll also discuss a few resources you can use to find work in Georgia for free.

Now that millions of Americans have lost their extra financial security from the CARES Act, you may find yourself in a position in which you cannot fulfill your child support obligations, or the other parent cannot fulfill theirs. We understand that these are unprecedented times for everyone, and we want you to know that Fairell Roy & Associates is here to support you however we can. Read on to learn more about unemployment in our local area and the country as a whole, and contact our office if you would like to speak to a family law attorney in Atlanta about child support , child custody , or filing for divorce.

According to the Beauro of Labor Statistics, the national unemployment rate was 3.5% in February 2020. In March, that number increased to 4.4%; in April, that number more than tripled and rose to 14.7%. With some workers returning to essential businesses, restaurants, and other sectors of the economy in the next two months, unemployment dropped to 11.1% by the end of June.

However, it’s difficult to fully grasp the severity of these numbers without other contextual elements. Consider for instance, that the 6.9 million unemployment claims filed in late March is the current highest number of unemployment claims submitted in a single week; the previous high was just under 700,000 during the 1980s.

In total, approximately 53% of Americans are grappling with income loss caused by reduced hours, salary cuts, layoffs and furloughs, and other economic impacts. In April, The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research published a survey in which people who had experienced COVID-related unemployment were asked if they believed that their jobs were likely to return. At the time of polling, the response was an optimistic 78%; this number fell to 47% by late July.

Although Georgia’s unemployment rates have been lower than the national average, they are still among the highest we’ve seen in years. In April, Georgia’s unemployment rate peaked at 14.7%, leaving approximately 614,000 people unemployed. The unemployment rate fell to 9.4% in May 2020 and to 7.6% in June; this translates to 373,404 unemployed in June, more than twice the number of unemployed Georgians in February 2020 (161,147).

Since the beginning of the outbreak, the Georgia Department of Labor has paid out approximately $11 billion in state and federal assistance. This rate at which this number has increased is going to slow now that the expanded unemployment benefits provided in the CARES Act have come to and, leaving many Georgians without a safety net.

The Georgia Department of Labor has a page that unemployed workers can use to search local and state jobs, develop marketable skills, write a resume, plan a career change, and so much more. We highly recommend using these resources if you have found yourself in an economically compromised position due to COVID-19.

At Fairell Roy & Associates, we want to help our fellow Georgians in any way possible. We understand your family has likely been economically affected in one way or another, and we invite you to reach out to us if you need to speak with a family law attorney regarding child support, child custody, or filing for divorce.

You can also tune into our Facebook page throughout the week for live Q&A sessions in which we answer questions from the chat feed and direct messages. We’re doing everything we can to help our communities however we can, and we hope that you will reach out to us for all of your family law needs.

For additional resources relating to COVID-19, please see the following posts: