Jobless rate rises in Memphis to 4.3%

Greater Memphis’ jobless rate rose to 4.3 percent in September from 3.9 percent a year ago.

The new jobs report released Tuesday marks the first increase in the unemployment rate in any September since 2013.

While more residents in the Memphis metropolitan area were employed than a year ago, the number of jobless people also rose.

Labor market analysts at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the results, which were collected in September after a survey of households in Greater Memphis.

The report appears to show people who had left the labor force came in looking for jobs amid reports of strong economic growth.

In September, the number of residents employed full- and part-time in the metro area totaled 611,295. That meant another 5,257 people were working compared to a year earlier.

Over the same period, the number of unemployed residents rose by 3,179 to 27,447.

September’s rise in the jobless rate follows a steady increase in employment reported in a second BLS survey conducted at employers.

Payroll jobs at employers in the metro area totaled 658,500 in September, a gain of about 15,000 fulland part-time positions in a year. September's employment level is the highest ever recorded in metro Memphis.

Nine counties in three states make up the metro area, a region of 1.34 million people. The counties are, in Tennessee: Fayette, Shelby, Tipton; in Mississippi, Benton, DeSoto, Marshall, Tate, Tunica; in Arkansas, Crittenden.