Southwest Georgia posts record low unemployment rate

ATLANTA – Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), established under the March Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, has provided almost $1.7 billion in benefits to over 323,000 Georgians during the pandemic. PUA provides unemployment benefits to those who are not usually eligible for regular state benefits, but lose work, through no fault of their own, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many of these have included gig workers, independent contractors, employees of churches and nonprofits, or those with limited work history who do not qualify for regular state unemployment benefits.