Tennessee employers added nearly 50,000 more jobs over the past year, keeping the state's jobless rate at an historic low of 3.2 percent in March.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said Thursday that unemployment across the state declined from 3.6 percent a year ago to 3.2 percent last month, matching the February jobless rate in Tennessee. Household surveys indicate that the number of persons who say they are working in Tennessee rose 2.1 percent in the past year, or more than double the U.S. growth rate of 1.0 percent in the same period.
Jobless in March
› 3.2 percent: Unemployment rate in Tennessee› 3.8 percent: Unemployment rate in U.S.› 3.9 percent: Unemployment rate in GeorgiaSources: Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Georgia Department of Labor
Tennessee's jobless rate also remained well below the U.S. rate of 3.8 percent in March.
"The steady low unemployment rate continues to indicate a strong economy in Tennessee," Tennessee Labor Commissioner Jeff McCord said. "It's encouraging to see our state at record-setting unemployment for the past six months."
Tennessee reached its previous record low unemployment rate of 3.3 percent in October 2018, and it remained at that level for four consecutive months. The state began tracking unemployment rates in 1976 and has not previously had such a low rate.
The low jobless rate helped to boost hourly wages for manufacturing workers in Tennessee during March. The average wage for factory workers rose by 23 cents an hour during March to reach $20 an hour and the average workweek last month grew by 0.4 hours.
Tennessee manufacturing wages still remained 8.8 percent below the U.S. average of $21.93 an hour, however.
Over the last 12 months, Tennessee has seen an overall gain of 47,800 new non-farm jobs across the state.
In neighboring Georgia, unemployment remained at 3.9 percent last month, or a tenth of a percentage point above the national average.
Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Georgia set another record in March for total jobs in the state and added more than 80,000 jobs in the past 12 months while jobless claims last month fell again.
"The state continues to create jobs at an impressive pace," Butler said.
The number of unemployed Georgians has increased since the low reached last October, rising along with the growth in employment to keep the overall rate fairly constant over the past six months.
"We find that businesses are optimistic about their own business, but when it comes to the overall optimism about the U.S. and global economy, there's more doubt," SunTrust Bank division president Jenn Kelly told the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340.