Tennesssee jobless rate remains below U.S. average in September,

Unemployment fell in Georgia and the nation as a whole last month, falling to its lowest level in more than 17 years.

Tennessee’s jobless rate in September was unchanged from the previous month but remained a tenth of a percentage point below the U.S. rate, which is now at a 49-year low for the country as a whole.

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said Thursday that 3.6 percent of the workforce was out of work last month, the same as in August.

Tennessee employers added 8,600 non-farm jobs between August and September, including 2,300 new positions in the manufacturing industry. Over the past 12 months, non-farm employment has increased by 63,900 jobs.

“We have an unemployment rate that’s holding steady as many employers across the state continue to hire new employees,” Tennessee Labor Commissioner Burns Phillips said. “These are positive signs as we move into the last quarter of what has been a very good year for Tennessee’s economy.”

In Georgia, unemployment dropped in September to its lowest level since May 2001 and continued to match the U.S. rate for joblessness.

The Georgia Department of Labor said employers added a net 15,300 jobs last month to push the state’s total number to 4.57 million — a record high. Over the past year, Georgia added 111,100 new jobs, or nearly 10,000 a month.

“Georgia has more jobs than two dozen states have population,” Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday. “It’s great to see Georgia continue to thrive. Businesses are creating jobs and men and women are getting hired at record levels.”

The biggest job gains in Georgia over the past year came in construction, up by 22,300 jobs; trade, transportation and utilities, up by 20.300 jobs and education and health services, up by 18,300 jobs.

Butler said the construction gains were “nothing short of amazing. We haven’t seen numbers like that since the Olympics. This isn’t speculative building. This is needed construction.”

Contact Dave Flesssner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6340.