Career Center Happenings

Nashville-area jobless rate up, but more jobs added in March

The Tennessean - April 25, 2008 Friday
ONLINE Edition

Staff Writer: GETAHN WARD 726-5968 or at gward@tennessean.com

Unemployment in the Nashville Metro area rose 1.1 percentage points in March from a year ago, reflecting effects of the U.S. economic slowdown and continued loss of manufacturing jobs.

The jobless rate increased to 4.9 percent in the 13-county area last month, according to figures Thursday from the state's Department of Labor & Workforce Development. That was up from 3.8 percent a year earlier.

Last week, statewide numbers indicated that unemployment across Tennessee also increased 1.1 percentage points over last, to 5.6 percent. That's higher than the 5.1 percent national rate.

Still, the Nashville area bucked the national trend of job losses by adding 10,900 non-farm jobs year-over-year. Job growth and unemployment are measured separately.

"I wouldn't call it robust growth, but it's growth," said David Penn., an economist with Middle Tennessee State University, adding that the nation's economy lost an average of 75,000 to 80,000 jobs in each of the last three months.

Stats bode well locally

Penn called the different directions of the jobless rate and job growth a good sign for the Nashville-area economy.

"It's telling us that the job market is slowing down, but we're not seeing unmistakable signs of a recession here yet," he said.

Year-over-year, every sector added jobs except manufacturing and the subsector of transportation, warehousing and utilities that saw more of the effect from higher costs of fuel and a drop in demand for goods amid the nation's economic slowdown.

Employment in manufacturing has been declining since early last year, Penn said. Durable goods, which typically include cars and transportation equipment, took the biggest hit in March with 4,500 fewer people employed in that sector.

Service-related sectors, meanwhile, recorded a growth of 14,000 jobs. About 5,000 more people were at work in education and health services vs. a year ago, while the hospitality and leisure area had 2,700 more and the retail trade added 2,600 more people.

Statewide, Williamson County posted the state's lowest unemployment rate at
3.9 percent. Perry County recorded the highest rate at 12.1 percent. Davidson County had an unemployment rate of 4.7 percent.

The Nashville Metro area's 4.9 percent jobless rate was higher than Knox County's 4.3 percent the lowest unemployment among metropolitan areas statewide.

Compared with February, Davidson County's jobless rate was up from 4.5 percent while the wider Nashville Metropolitan area's was up from 4.7 percent.

Gregory Brown, an economist with Martin Methodist College in Pulaski, said that employment in the manufacturing sector could rebound as more workers hurt by the temporary shutdown of General Motors' Spring Hill plant return to work.

Penn of MTSU, however, said that because Maury County isn't part of the official Nashville Metro area, only temporary layoffs by suppliers in parts of the region that's being tracked would have been reflected in the employment data.

The growth in non-farm jobs compared with last year means that people seeking jobs in many fields should still be able to find work, economists said. But a survey of jobseekers and officials at a location of the Tennessee Career Center Thursday indicated that a job seeker's prospects depend on particular areas of interest.

Workers in nursing, or in day care facilities, are in high demand, making it easier to find jobs, said Terry Hiers, manager of the career center. But positions such as office manager and administrative assistants are competitive because of fewer turnovers, Hiers said.

At the career center off Rosa L. Parks Boulevard, positions that employers are seeking to fill were up slightly to 135 in March from 125 a year earlier.

Dustin Swayne, a counselor with the career center, said that the rise in the price of gas has more job seekers preferring to work closer to where they live. "While they used to look for jobs in the 25 to 30 miles range, now they want within 10 maybe 15."

Job seekers also are factoring in transportation costs in decisions regarding pay.

Job seekers at the career center Thursday included Pixie Tear, a real estate agent who has been seeking a job in office, hotel or retail management since January. "I'm being told by people here I'm overqualified," said Tear, who relocated to Nashville from Michigan after being told by her brother that job prospects were much better.