Despite the nationwide drop in unemployment last month, Tennessee's jobless rate in November was unchanged at 4.8 percent.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said today that seasonally adjusted employment levels fell by 2,8o0 jobs in November, due primarily to cutbacks in leisure and hospitality following the busy summer months and in manufacturing which suffered from both plant and seasonal cutbacks.
The U.S. unemployment rate for November was 4.6 percent, down three-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month.
Over the past year, nonfarm employment increased in Tennessee by 55,600 jobs, or 2.8 percent.
Tennessee's jobless rate, although above the U.S. average, was still below the rate in neighboring Georgia.
The Georgia Department of Labor said today that the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.3 percent in November, up one-tenth of a percentage point from 5.2 percent in October.
"For the third consecutive month, strong growth in our state's labor force caused a slight increase in our unemployment rate," Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said. "However, in those same three months, we've seen more than 56,000 people become employed."
Georgia has added 186,888 workers and job seekers to its labor force since the first of the year, Butler said.