september unemployment rate 4.7 percent

Tennessee Commissioner of Labor & Workforce Development James Neeley announced today Tennessee's unemployment rate for September was 4.7 percent, up 0.7 percentage point from August, attributable to a rise in the state's labor force.  The national unemployment rate for September 2007 was also 4.7 percent, up slightly from 4.6 percent in August.

"The unemployment rate for September was 4.7 percent, up from the August rate of 4.0, the result of 18,100 new job seekers entering the labor force last month," said Commissioner Neeley.  "We have seen Tennessee's jobless rate decline over the past year from when it was 5.1 percent in September 2006."

August-to-September gains were seasonal, with government increasing 13,600; administrative, support, and waste services (which are primarily temporary workers) increased 2,500; and educational services increased 2,400. Month-to-month declines included leisure and hospitality, down 4,900, and slight decreases industry-wide in manufacturing, down 1,100; retail trade was down 900.

The leisure and hospitality sector led those areas doing well over the year, with gains of 8,300. Construction was the single, strongest category of employment growth, increasing by 7,300 and indicating non-residential, government, and hospitality construction more than offset declines in residential housing construction.  Major employment declines over the year were in manufacturing, down 10,700, and in clothing and accessories stores, down 1,600.