Floyd County’s first-time unemployment initial claims jumped 54 percent from March to April but were down 43 percent from April of 2011.

Floyd County had 782 people file an initial claim during the month of April. An initial claim means they have not sought unemployment insurance during the preceding year.

Some 506 first-time claims were filed in March and 1,373 in April 2011

The Georgia Department of Labor statistics also show the area has lost 1,000 jobs since this time last year.

In April 2011, Floyd County had 38,600 payroll jobs. That was 2.6 percent higher than April of 2012 when the Department of Labor reported Floyd County with 37,600 jobs.

State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler reported that Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined for the ninth consecutive month in April, to 8.9 percent, the first time in more than three years the rate has dropped below nine percent. The rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point from 9.0 percent in March. A year ago, the jobless rate was 9.8 percent in April.

“We now have the lowest unemployment rate, the fewest unemployed workers, and the most jobs in Georgia in more than three years,” said Butler. “Our job market continues to improve at a modest and steady rate.”

The last time Georgia’s jobless rate was below nine percent was in February of 2009, when it was also 8.9 percent.

The rate declined as the number of new jobs statewide grew by 31,900, to 3,926,000, the highest number of jobs in Georgia since January of 2009.