Chattanooga employment increases to record high

Employers in the Chattanooga area added more than 11,000 jobs over the past 12 months, boosting employment by 4.4 percent to a record high, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said Thursday.

The jobless rate in the 6-county Chattanooga area edged up a tenth of a percentage point during November to 3.5 percent. But unemployment in Chattanooga remained below the national average and near the lowest levels of the past two decades.

Across Tennessee, the jobless rate averaged even less at 3.1 percent with unemployment as low as 2.5 percent in Nashville.

“The economy remains strong in Tennessee, but we are not going to let up on our Drive to 55 to ensure our workforce is ready for the demands of employers in the years to come,” Tennessee Gov. Haslam said in a statement Thursday.

Eight of the 10 lowest county unemployment rates in November were in Middle Tennessee, with Knox and Sevier counties in East Tennessee rounding out the list of the top 10 lowest rates in the state.

In Southeast Tennessee, unemployment was lowest in Bradley County at 3.1 percent and highest in Rhea and Bledsoe counties at 5.4 percent. Only Lauderdale County with a 5.5 percent unemployment rate had higher joblessness among the state’s 95 counties.

“While unemployment rates remain near historically low levels in many counties, there are still areas that need our assistance,” Tennessee Labor Commissioner Burns Phillips said. “We are working with other state agencies, like the Department of Economic and Community Development, to create jobs and qualified workforces in those distressed counties.”

To the south, unemployment in metropolitan Dalton rose last month by four tenths of a percentage point to 5.3 percent — the highest jobless rate among Georgia’s eight metro areas, according to the Georgia Department of Labor.

But Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said the job market in Dalton is still improving over a year ago, noting that the increase in the November unemployment rate stems primarily from the increase in the workforce and temporary layoffs in the Carpet Capital.

Although unemployment insurance claims increased slightly in Dalton, Butler said “this is a very good jobs report.”

Since November 2016, employment in metro Dalton has increased by 1,021 jobs, or 1.7 percent, helping to cut the jobless rate in the past 12 months by 0.5 percent from 5.8 percent in November 2016 to 5.3 percent last month.

In Northwest Georgia, unemployment was lowest in Catoosa County at 3.7 percent and highest in Murray county at 5.3 percent.

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