Jobless rates fall to 7-year low in Tennessee, Georgia

Unemployment tile
Unemployment tile

Unemployment in Tennessee fell last month to the lowest level in seven years as employers across the two states added 167,100 jobs over the past year.

Tennessee's jobless rate fell to 5.7 percent in June - the lowest monthly rate since May 2008- while unemployment fell last month in Georgia to 6.1 percent - the lowest rate in the Peach State since June 2008.

Jobless in June

* 5,7 percent in Tennessee, down 0.1 pecent from May * 6.1 percent in Georgia, down 0.2 percent from May* 5.3 percent nationwide, down 0.2 percent from MaySources: U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, Georgia Department of Labor, Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development

Business challenges

The top concerns listed by Tennessee businesses:1. Rising health care costs, 76 percent2. Staffing, 58 percent3. Political uncertainty, 56 percent4. Increasing regulations, 50 percent5. Economic uncertainty, 46 percentSource: Survey of 132 businesses by Office of Consumer Research, Jones College of Business at Middle Tennessee State University

Both states reported unemployment rates above the U.S. rate of 5.3 percent during June. But a new survey of Tennessee business owners finds most expect the economy to continue to improve. Many said they already are having trouble filling vacant jobs.

"Certainly as more Baby boomers retire and the economy continues to improves, finding enough qualified workers to fill job vacancies could be more difficult for many employers," said Catherine Glover, president of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

A new survey conducted of Tennessee employers by the state Chamber and Middle Tennessee State University found that 42 percent of employers expect they will add to their staff in the next year, compared with only 9 percent that expect staff reductions.

The poll of 132 businesses across the Volunteer State found that 58 percent are already concerned about finding, hiring and training personnel - the highest level of any business concern except rising health care costs, which were identified as a concern by 76 percent of the respondents.

"All things considered, the majority of Tennessee business leaders expect their firm's future performance to either remain steady or to improve," said Timothy Graeff, the director of the Office of Consumer Research at MTSU which conducted the new quarterly Business Barometer survey. "While most firms expect to maintain or grow their level of employment in the next 12 months, many firms are experiencing difficulty finding qualified employees, which can hinder future growth."

Glover said businesses are more encouraged by the state's regulatory climate than what they expect from Washington, which she said is imposing more costs on businesses through new EPA and labor department rules.

But the improving economy appears to still be boosting employment across most industries.

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Employment Security also reported Thursday that average weekly earnings of manufacturing workers in Tennessee rose by $7.51 last month to $731. Although hourly wages were up by 18 cents per hour in June, Tennessee factory workers, on average, were still paid $100 less per week than the U.S. average of all manufacturing workers.

In Georgia, employment grew by 106,000 jobs over the past year, or 2.6 percent, which surpassed both Tennessee's 2.2 percent growth in employment and the U.S. job growth rate of 2.1 percent for the past 12 months.

"Georgia continues to be a national leader in job creation.," Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said in a statement Thursday.

Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340

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