Jobless in October
The non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate last month declined in 13 counties, in five counties and unchanged in three counties.Tennessee, 4.9 percent, down 0.1 percent* Bradley, 4.3 percent, down 0.5 percent* Coffee, 5 percent, down 0.1 percent* Hamilton, 5.1 percent, down 0.1 percent* Franklin, 5.4 percent, down 0.3 percent* Polk, 5.5 percent, down 0.3 percent* McMinn, 5.7 percent, down 0.1 percent* Van Buren, 6 percent, down 0.2 percent* Sequatchie, 6.2 percent, up 0.1 percent* Meigs, 6.4 percent, down 0.6 percent* Marion, 6.5 percent, down 0.2 percent* Marion, 6.5 percent, down 0.2 percent* Bledsoe, 6.6 percent, down 0.4 percent* Grundy, 7.3 percent, up 0.6 percent* Rhea, 7.5 percent, up 0.3 percentGeorgia, 5.2 percent, down 0.1 percent* Catoosa, 4.7 percent, unchanged* Dade, 5 percent, unchanged* Walker, 5.1 percent, down 0.1 percent* Gordon, 5.3 percent, down 0.2 percent* Whitfield, 5.7 percent, unchanged* Chattooga, 5.7 percent, up 0.1 percent* Murray, 6.8 percent, up 0.1 percentSources: Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Georgia Department of Labor
Cleveland led Tennessee’s metro cities for job growth over the past year, adding 4,430 jobs in the past 12 months to lead the state with a robust 8.2 percent growth in employment over the past year.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said the jobless rate in metropolitan Cleveland last month fell by three tenths of a percentage point to 4.5 percent. The rate of job growth in metro Cleveland, which includes Bradley and Polk counties, grew nearly twice as fast as Tennessee’s overall job growth and was more than four times as fast as the U.S. rate in the past 12 months.
“Cleveland continues to lead the state in job growth and Tennessee continues to show signs of strong economic growth,” said Bill Fox, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee.
Gary Farlow, who heads the Cleveland-Bradley Chamber of Commerce, said the area has the lowest unemployment numbers in about the last 15 years.
“The employment market is strong,” he said, noting companies such as Whirlpool and Amazon are among local businesses that are hiring.
Unemployment also fell last month in the Chattanooga area, but still remained slightly above the U.S. average of 4.9 percent in October. In the six-county Chattanooga metro area, unemployment declined in October by a tenth of a percent to 5.1 percent.
Over the past year, the Chattanooga area added 9,110 jobs, up 3.8 percent, according to preliminary state job figures.
Across the Chattanooga region, unemployment was lowest in Bradley County at 4.3 percent and highest in Murray County, Ga., at 6.8 percent.
Despite the job gains in Southeast Tennessee, employment fell slightly in the past year in metropolitan Dalton, Ga.
The Georgia Department of Labor said Dalton’s jobless rate in October was unchanged at 6 percent. But the number of employed persons in metro Dalton, which includes Whitfield and Murray counties, fell by 300 jobs in the past month and by 400 jobs over the past year.
Most of the job losses came in textile manufacturing in the Carpet Capital, according to Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler.
During October, Davidson County had the lowest jobless rate among Tennessee’s major metropolitan counties at 3.7 percent, decreasing from 3.9 percent the previous month. Knox County was 4.1 percent in October, down from 4.3 percent in September. The Hamilton County rate was 5.0 percent, decreasing from 5.1 the previous month. Shelby County was 5.7 percent, also decreasing from 5.8 the previous month.
In Georgia, unemployment was lowest in Butler County at 4.1 percent and highest in Clay County at 9 percent.