Jobless in January
* In Tennesssee, unemployment fell 0.2 percent to 5.4 percent * In Georgia, unemployment fell 0.1 percent to 5.4 percent. * In the U.S. as a whole, unemployment fell 0.1 percent to 4.9 percent Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Unemployment during January fell to 5.4 percent in both states, down two tenths of a percent from the previous month in Tennessee and down a tenth of a percent from December in Georgia. Unemployment at the start of 2015 was the lowest it has been since November 2007 in Tennessee and the lowest since February 2008 in Georgia.
“The growth in jobs in January from a year ago is just extraordinary and was strong in almost every industry,” said William Fox, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee. “The unemployment rate remains above the U.S. average simply because we’re seeing more growth in the labor market here and the number of workers seeking jobs is rising faster here than we are seeing for the country as a whole.”
Over the past year, state employment agencies estimate Tennessee employers added 96,000 jobs, or 3.4 percent, while Georgia employers added 119,300 jobs, or 2.8 percent. The job gains easily surpassed the 1.9 percent national gains in jobs.
But both states continued to have higher unemployment rates than the U.S. average of 4.9 percent in January.
“We’re starting the new year with the lowest unemployment rate we’ve had in almost eight years,” Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday. “We had 18,328 more people working in January than in December and 92,649 more than in January of last year.”
Job gains were even greater in Georgia, meaning many workers were able to pick up more than one job.
Over the past year, Tennessee’s unemployment rate decreased from 6.1 percent to 5.4 percent; Georgia’s jobless rate dipped from 6.3 percent to 5.4 percent; and the the national rate declined from 5.7 percent to 4.9 percent.
The Tennessee Department of Labor said there are currently 101,000 job positions listed on the web site Jobs4TN.gov.
The drop in unemployment should help wage gains for many workers this year, Fox said. In January, the typical manufacturing hourly wage in Tennessee grew by 11 cents to $17.56 an hour. However, a slightly shorter work week still cut average weekly pay for factory workers.
Tennessee’s average manufacturing wage in January was still 13 percent less than the U.S. average manufacturing wage of $20.15 an hour.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfree press.com or at 423-757-6340.