Jobless rates fall in Tennessee and Georgia but remain above U.S. unemployment rate

Unemployment declined last month in both Tennessee and Georgia but remained above the national jobless rate in both states last month.

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said Thursday employers across the Volunteer State added a net 8,300 jobs during February, cutting the state’s jobless rate by a tenth of a percentage point to 5.3 percent.

The jobless rate in neighboring Georgia dropped by two-tenths of a percentage point last month to match Tennessee’s 5.3 percent rate after Georgia employers added 21,181 jobs last month.

The U.S. jobless rate in February fell by a tenth of a percentage point to 4.7 percent.

Over the past year, Tennessee employment increased by 66,100 jobs, or 0.6 percent. But the jobless rate is up from a year ago because of the influx of more workers in the labor force.

“When you see the unemployment tick up over a period of time, that always catches your attention,” Tennessee Labor Commissioner Burns Phillips said. “But when you look at the statistics, they tell an interesting story about Tennessee.”

Tennessee continues to add jobs, albeit at a pace that is slower than in most economic recoveries. But the jobless rate has still risen as workers have moved to Tennessee or joined the labor force after previously dropping out or not choosing to participate actively in either working or actively pursuing a job.

“As the number of people looking for jobs across the state grows faster than the hiring process, we have really focused on preparing those job seekers for employment with key resources like Jobs4TN.gov and our American Job Centers,” Phillips said.

Georgia’s unemployment rate also remained elevated above the U.S. rate despite faster job and economic growth in the Peach State over the past couple of years.

“Our unemployment rate fell as Georgia set new record highs for the number of people employed and for the size of our labor force, which crossed the 5 million mark for the first time,” Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said in a statement. “Our employers continued to create jobs at a strong pace and we saw a significant drop in the number of new layoffs.”