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Chattanooga jobless rate up last month due to influx of job seekers

A job seeker fills out an application during a National Career Fairs job fair Wednesday, April 22, 2015, in Chicago. Weekly applications for jobless aid ticked up 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 295,000, the Labor Department said Thursday, April 23, 2015. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, increased to 284,500. Still, that is just 2,000 higher than three weeks ago when the average was at a nearly 15-year low.(AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
A job seeker fills out an application during a National Career Fairs job fair Wednesday, April 22, 2015, in Chicago. Weekly applications for jobless aid ticked up 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 295,000, the Labor Department said Thursday, April 23, 2015. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, increased to 284,500. Still, that is just 2,000 higher than three weeks ago when the average was at a nearly 15-year low.(AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) A job seeker fills out an application during a National Career Fairs job fair Wednesday, April 22, 2015, in Chicago. Weekly applications for jobless aid ticked up 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 295,000, the Labor Department said Thursday, April 23, 2015. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, increased to 284,500. Still, that is just 2,000 higher than three weeks ago when the average was at a nearly 15-year low.(AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

By Dave Flessner 4 min read

Jobless in September

The unemployment rate in September, compared with the August rate, in area counties was:Tennessee, 5 percent, unchanged* Bradley, 4.6 percent, down 0.1 percent* Hamilton, 5.1 percent, up 0.1 percent* Coffee, 5.2 percent, up 0.3 percent* Franklin, 5.7 percent, unchanged* McMinn, 5.8 percent, unchanged* Polk, 5.8 percent, unchanged* Sequatchie, 6.1 percent, unchanged* Van Buren, 6.2 percent, up 0.8 percent* Grundy, 6.7 percent, up 0.1 percent* Marion, 6.7 percent, unchanged* Meigs, 6.9 percent, down 0.3 percent* Bledsoe, 7 percent, up 0.4 percentGeorgia, 5.3 percent, up 0.1 percentCatoosa, 4.7 percent, down 0.1 percentDade, 5.1 percent, unchangedWalker, 5.2 percent, down 0.1 percentChattooga, 5.6 percnet, down 0.5 pecentWhitfield, 5.7 percent, unchangedMurray, 6.7 percent, down 0.1 percentSources: Georgia Department of Labor and Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development

Unemployment in the Chattanooga area rose above the state and national averages during September due to an influx of job seekers into the labor market as summer ended and more people began seeking jobs this fall.

But with thousands of holiday and automotive jobs opening up, employment prospects for those looking for work should improve this fall.

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said Thursday the jobless rate in the six-county Chattanooga metropolitan area rose by a tenth of a percentage point to 5.2 percent in September. Chattanooga’s unemployment rate was above both the state and national averages last month even though local employers added a net 1,570 jobs last month, according to state employment estimates.

The size of the labor force in metro Chattanooga, which includes both those on the job and those actively seeking work, grew by 1,770 people last month. As a result, unemployment climbed in Chattanooga to a rate 0.2 percent higher than the statewide rate and 0.4 percent higher than the U.S. rate, not adjusted for seasonal factors.