Jobless rate falls to lowest March level in 17 years

Unemployment fell in metropolitan Chattanooga to its lowest March level in 17 years as employers in the 6-county region added a net 8,437 jobs over the past year.

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said Thursday that the jobless rate in metro Chattanooga last month dropped by two tenths of a percentage point to 3.5 percent, matching the lowest non-seasonally adjusted rates for March in Chattanooga since 2001. Employment over the past 12 months grew by more than 3.3 percent in metro Chattanooga, or more than twice the U.S. growth rate in jobs.

Chattanooga’s construction industry grew by 6 percent over the past 12 months, or twice the U.S. rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Chattanooga and Cleveland showed strong gains in building jobs,” said Kenneth Simonson, chief economist for Associated General Contractors of America, noting that many contractors are now reporting trouble filling available jobs.

Unemployment in metro Nashville was the lowest among all major cities in the state at 2.7 percent last month, well below both the comparable statewide rate in Tennessee of 3.5 percent or the U.S. rate of 4.1 percent.

“We continue to see solid employment gains in Tennessee, especially in Nashville and Chattanooga, and we expect that to continue this year,” said Dr. Bill Fox, director of the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee.

Unemployment edged down a tenth of a percent in metro Cleveland to 3.6 percent and dropped in Dalton by two tenths of a percentage point to 5.3 percent.

The Dalton area continued to have the highest jobless rate among Georgia’s 14 metropolitan areas last month, but the addition of 400 net new jobs last month still cut Dalton’s jobless rate to its second lowest monthly rate in more than a decade.

“That’s a very strong month for the Dalton area and we’re glad to see fewer initial claims for unemployment, not only for the month but from a year ago,” Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said.

Among Tennessee’s 95 counties, unemployment fell in 82 counties and rose in only four.

Williamson County once again had Tennessee’s lowest unemployment rate at 2.5 percent, while Bledsoe and Houston counties had the highest jobless rate in the state at 5.8 percent.

Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfree press.com or at 757-6340.

STAFF PHOTO BY DAVE FLESSNER Construction crews work to build the $19 million Moxy hotel along King Street at Market Street in downtown Chattanooga. The 108-room hotel is one of three new boutique hotels being added downtown this year, helping to boost construction employment in...