Just in time for the Christmas season, residents of Tennessee and Georgia got a bit of good economic news recently: Unemployment fell in the two states -- albeit only slightly.
In Tennessee, the unemployment rate dropped from 9.8 percent in September to 9.6 percent in October.
And in Georgia, joblessness fell from 10.3 percent in September to 10.2 percent in October.
We grant that those figures are not exactly exciting. After all, in addition to the still too-many Tennesseans and Georgians who can't find work, there are hundreds of thousands more who are not technically unemployed but who can find only part-time work even though they need full-time. They are struggling almost as much as those who are unemployed outright.
Nevertheless, with the economy having suffered intense weakness for several years now, any signs of hope or improvement -- however slight -- are welcome.
We hope that the modest increase in employment in Tennessee and Georgia -- as well as at the national level -- will continue and will turn into a real recovery as soon as possible.
In the meantime, those of us who are fortunate enough to have jobs and to be able to meet our needs with something to spare should reach out to help those who are unemployed or who are otherwise suffering economic pain.
There is obviously no good time to be involuntarily unemployed, but it can be particularly distressing during the Christmas season.
We can all perform acts of kindness and charity to lessen that distress.