Jobless in April
The share of workers, who were unemployed last month, fell in most area counties TENNESSEE ' Hamilton - 3.8 percent, down 0.2 percent ' Coffee - 3.8 percent, down 0.2 percent ' Franklin - 3.8 percent, unchanged ' McMinn - 4.5 percent, down 0.2 percent ' Van Buren - 4.8 percent, down 0.8 percent ' Sequatchie - 4.9 percent, down 0.4 percent ' Marion - 5 percent, down 0.2 percent ' Grundy - 5 percent, down 0.5 percent ' Bledsoe - 5.5 percent, down 0.4 percent ' Meigs - 6 percent, up 0.1 percent ' Rhea - 6 percent, down 0.3 percent GEORGIA ' Dade - 4.4 percent, down 0.5 percent ' Catoosa - 4.6 percent, down 0.4 percent ' Walker - 5 percent, down 0.1 percent ' Whitfield - 5.2 percent, down 1.5 percent ' Chattooga - 5.2 percent, down 0.8 percent ' Murray - 6.4 percent, down 0.9 percent Sources: Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Georgia Department of Labor
The jobless rate in the six-county Chattanooga metropolitan area dropped in April to 4.1 percent - the lowest rate since August 2007. In Hamilton County, unemployment fell to 3.8 percent - the lowest monthly rate since February 2007.
Unemployment in Chattanooga was well below the nationwide 5 percent rate last month and could fall even more this year as Volkswagen and its suppliers gear up to add nearly 3,000 workers to begin production of a second vehicle line at the company's Chattanooga assembly plant.
The growth by Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Nissan in Smyrna and General Motors in Spring Hill is helping drive automotive growth in the state. A new economic forecast for Tennessee released Thursday projects the Volunteer State will continue to enjoy above-average job growth this year and next.
"Tennessee has really shown a surge in the past few quarters and is now enjoying stronger growth than the U.S. as a whole in most economic measures," said Matt Murray, associate director for the University of Tennessee Center for Business and Economic Research. "It's hard to diagnose all of the reasons why that is, but in terms of income growth, job growth, tax growth - everything in Tennessee right now seems to be doing better than its national counterpart."
Nonfarm employment in Tennessee is projected to increase by 2.6 percent in 2016, compared with a 1.9 percent increase expected nationwide. Employment in the Volunteer State is projected to grow 1.5 percent in 2017, slightly above the 1.4 percent growth pace forecast for the country as a whole.
Tennessee should see nominal personal income growth of 5 percent both this year and next year, while in the U.S. income growth will be up 3.8 percent in 2016 and 4.8 percent in 2017.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development has more than 200,000 jobs listed on its web site Jobs- 4TN.gov.
Among Tennessee's 95 counties, unemployment fell last month in 90 counties, increased in two and remained the same in three during April. The jobless rate was lowest last month among Tennessee counties in the Nashville suburb of Williamson County, where unemployment fell to only 2.7 percent. The jobless rate was highest last month in Houston County at 6.8 percent.
Georgia is also showing above-average job growth, even though its unemployment rate remains above the U.S. average across much of Georgia.
The Georgia Department of Labor said it has 127,761 job openings. The agency said Thursday that unemployment in metropolitan Dalton plunged last month by the biggest amount in any Georgia metro area, cutting the jobless rate in the Carpet Capital to the lowest monthly level since the end of 2007.
The jobless rate in metro Dalton, which includes Whitfield and Murray counties, fell by 1.3 percentage points to 5.5 percent in April - the lowest monthly level since December 2007.
Dalton area employers added a net 807 jobs over the past year, cutting the jobless rate by 1.1 percentage points from a year ago. Over the year, Dalton gained 1,500 jobs, a 2.2 percent growth rate.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfree press.com or at 423-757-6340.