Tennessee, Georgia jobless rates drop

FILE - This April 22, 2014, file photo shows an employment application form on a table at a job fair in Hudson, N.Y. Middle-age white Americans with limited education are increasingly dying younger, on average, than other middle-age U.S. adults, a trend driven by their dwindling economic opportunities, research by two Princeton University economists has found. The economists, Anne Case and Angus Deaton, argue in a paper released Thursday, March 23, 2017, that the loss of steady middle-income jobs for those with high school degrees or less has triggered broad problems for this group. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)

By Dave Flessner April 20, 2017 2 min read

Unemployment fell two-tenths of a percentage point last month to 5.1 percent in both Tennessee and Georgia, according to job figures released today.

Although both states boasted faster job growth than the nation as a whole, the jobless rate in Tennessee and Georgia remained above the U.S. rate of 4.6 percent. State officials said an influx of workers in both states is keeping unemployment higher than the national average.

In Tennessee, the March jobless rate this year was a half percent higher than a year ago even though the Volunteer State added 65,000 jobs over the past 12 months. The workforce in Tennessee grew by 72,900 in the past 12 months.

“This report shows Tennesseans are finding work in a growing workforce,” Tennessee Labor Commissioner Burns Phillips said. “When the labor force grows quicker than residents can find work, unemployment rates take a hit and that’s exactly what we’ve seen over the past 12 months.”

From February to March in Tennessee, the total nonfarm employment increased by 8,600 jobs.