September jobless rate lowest in years

A 5.6 percent unemployment rate for the Memphis metro area in September was the lowest for the month since a 5.3 percent in 2007, before the Great Recession, according to government figures released on Thursday.

Within the metro area, jobless rates were 5.8 percent for Shelby County, 5.7 percent for Fayette County, 5.9 percent for Tipton County, 4.8 percent for the Mississippi portion and 4.5 percent for the Arkansas portion.

In Shelby County, rates included 4.5 percent for Bartlett, 4.2 percent for Collierville and Germantown, and 6.3 percent for Memphis, according to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development data.