Georgians loom large on obesity listThink fried chicken, biscuits and gravy and pecan pie. What do these Southern classics add up to?
Numbers that make the South the fattest region in the country and Georgia among the flabbiest states, according to a federal government study released Thursday.
More than one in four Georgia adults is obese, earning the state a ranking of 8th fattest.
Twenty-eight percent of Georgians are obese. Mississippi had the highest ranking with 32 percent tipping the scales too far. Alabama and Tennessee are not far behind.
The national average is 25.6 percent.
http://www.ajc.com/health/content/health/stories/2008/07/17/fat_georgians.htmlGeorgia unemployment rate highest in 15 yearsThe jobless rate in Georgia leaped last month to the highest level it has reached in May since 1993.
The official rate rose from 5.3 percent in April to 5.8 percent in May, paralleling the large leap taken by the national unemployment rate.
increasingly difficult economic environment," said Michael Thurmond, state labor commissioner.
Higher unemployment rates often mean that the labor market has weakened. However, economists consider the rate to be a lagging and somewhat inexact indicator.
A slowing economy typically does not immediately shove jobless rates much higher. On the other hand, an improving economy is often accompanied by rising rates as more people seek work.
Critics often argue that the official jobless rate understates problems. It does not include people who are out of work and have not been looking for a job. And it does not include people who have worked even a little bit in the past month.
Moreover, the jobless rate is calculated from a more limited survey than the one that produces the monthly figure on job growth.
But watched over the months as a trend, the jobless rate often tells an important story.
Georgia's jobless rate is up about a third from a year ago, when it was 4.4 percent. It notched up to 4.5 percent in September and stayed there through the rest of the year. But starting in January, the rate began trending higher.
At the same time, other indicators showed economic growth slowing.
http://www.ajc.com/fulton/content/business/stories/2008/06/18/georgia_unemployment_rate.htmland yet these morans continue to vote overwhemingly Republican