By Dionne Walker / Special

Georgia’s jobless rate soared to a record 10.1 percent in June and the state’s top labor official urged lawmakers and business leaders Wednesday to develop a plan to combat an economic decline that’s cost the state 209,500 jobs in the last year.

“This is unprecedented,’’ said Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond. “The time has come and gone for partisan politics, for business as usual. We need the best and most effective strategists in the room to figure out solutions.’’

Thurmond called for a “major round-table’’ of political leaders, interest groups and others to help give state legislators guidance on how to revive the state’s fortunes amid the economic downturn.

“It would be a time when the partisan rancor is set aside,’’ he said.

The comments came as the Department of Labor released more dismal news.

The seasonally adjusted unemployed rate for June was five-tenths of a percentage point above a revised 9.6 percent in May, subduing speculation that Georgia’s economic picture could be stabilizing.

In June, 483,394 unemployed Georgians were looking for work, an increase of 65 percent from June of 2008. The June jobless rate was up 4.0 percentage points from 6.1 percent at this time last year.

The number of payroll jobs in June decreased 209,500, or 5.1 percent, from June of 2008. And Georgia’s unemployment rate remained above the national rate of 9.5 percent for the 20th consecutive month.

The figures mark the latest dip in an economic roller coaster ride that officials hoped was ending.

Georgia reported a 9.3 percent unemployment rate in April, almost unchanged from the previous two months. Officials welcomed the numbers as tepid evidence the economy might be stabilizing.

By May, however, unemployment rates were back up to a then-record 9.7 percent.

Thurmond said lawmakers should form a plan for “encouraging economic development investments that promote job creation and future prosperity.’’

THURMOND GETTING TIRED OF THE BAD NEWS?

As for his political future, Thurmond’s office has for months been delivering unhappy unemployment news. But the Democrat’s fortunes could be getting brighter: He’s considering several new gigs.

Thurmond is contemplating running for a fourth term as the state’s top labor official and vying to become Georgia’s next lieutenant governor’s race. He also could be in the running for a gig with the U.S. Department of Labor.

Thurmond says the options have left him in a “happy conundrum.’’ He says he’s now weighing where he can “make the greatest contribution in terms of getting this economy turned around.’’

MEANWHILE, WHAT’S THE PLAN?

A comprehensive plan, however, could require a special legislative session. Gov. Sonny Perdue has been lukewarm on calling lawmakers back to the statehouse, where the budget would almost certainly take center stage.

Rajeev Dhawan, director of Georgia State’s Economic Forecasting Center predicts negative employment growth in the state for the next two years, with 179,400 jobs lost in 2009. He forecasts modest recovery in 2011.

But Dhawan believes unemployment will peak at 10.4 percent- only slightly worse than the current rate.

Another bright spot: While professional and business services, like manufacturing and construction, continue to face heavy job losses, health care and educational services showed a combined increase of 12,000 jobs in June.

NUKE THE NUKE HIKE
By Greg Bluestein / Special 

Critics of a new state law allowing Georgia Power Co. to charge ratepayers ahead of time for the costs of building two nuclear reactors have turned to the courts in their latest bid to block the measure.

Georgia Power said Tuesday it has asked a judge to dismiss two separate lawsuits filed by an environmental group and a conservative taxpayers foundation. The suits contend it is unconstitutional to make ratepayers finance the Plant Vogtle reactors six years before they go online.

The legal challenges target one of the most contentious pieces of legislation adopted by lawmakers this year. After hours of heated debate -and weeks of heavy lobbying -the measure narrowly passed both legislative chambers and was signed into law in April.

CUSTOMERS PAYING THROUGH THE NOSE SAY NEW RATES STINK

The law’s supporters said customers would have to pick up the tab for the new reactors either way and that the financing scheme would save money in the long run by shaving roughly $300 million off the expansion’s $14 billion price tag.

The lawsuits filed in Fulton County Superior Court by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and the Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation each target the Public Service Commission, which approved the plant expansion by a 4-1 vote in March, and Gov. Sonny Perdue, who signed the bill into law a month later.

Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley has said the governor signed the measure because he believes it will be a long-term benefit to Georgia Power customers. And commission spokesman Bill Edge, who said he wouldn’t comment on the litigation, said the panel acted properly.

“The members feel like their order is a proper order,’’ said Edge.

Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based utility giant Southern Co., on Tuesday pointed to a response it filed last week to the lawsuits, in which it denied the claims and urged a judge to dismiss the lawsuit.

The new law allows the energy company to begin collecting $1.6 billion in financing and shareholder equity costs early. The east Georgia project is scheduled to be completed in 2017. It could be the first new nuclear project to break ground in the country in three decades.

Ratepayers will see their electric bills rise by an average of $1.30 a month in 2011 under the new law. Those increases will gradually rise to an additional $9.10 a month in 2017.

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy’s lawsuit, filed June 15, claims that the state commission failed to consider all the costs of the proposed expansion. It also contends that the panel jumped the gun when it approved the expansion before Perdue approved the accompanying legislation.