According to a story [1] in the Savannah Morning News, first-time unemployment claims in Macon and Augusta rose during the month of October.  Macon saw 520 more claims filed, an increase of 62.9%. In Augusta, unemployment claims rose from 1,268 in September to 2,016 in October, an increase of 59%.  Statewide, over 41,000 workers filed first-time unemployment claims, an increase of 29.1% from September and an increase of 5.2% from the number of first-time claims filed in October of 2006.