Jobless rates fall in Hamilton County, region

photo Developing Story

AREA JOBLESS RATESCounty, October rate and percent change from September:Tennessee• Bradley, 5.8 percent, down 0.3• Hamilton, 6.2 percent, down 0.2• Marion, 7.4 percent, up 0.3• Polk, 6.8 percent, down 0.2• Sequatchie, 6.9 percent, down 0.5Georgia• Walker, Catoosa, and Dade, 5.7 percent, down 0.1• Whitfield and Murray, 8.8 percent; down 0.1Source: States of Tennessee, Georgia

Like many on Black Friday, Brittany Morrison walked out with a package from Academy Sports+Outdoors near Hamilton Place mall, saying she's feeling pretty secure about her job.

"I've been teaching for 10 years. There's a little job security there," the Cleveland, Tenn., woman said.

Jobless rates are ratcheting down in the Chattanooga area, some hitting the lowest point since midsummer when they spiked for the year, state figures show.

Hamilton County's unemployment rate fell to 6.2 percent last month, down from 6.6 percent in September, according to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Bradley County's mark toppled to 5.8 percent in October, off from 6.1 percent a month earlier.

In Northwest Georgia, the metro rate fell to 7 percent in October from 7.1 percent, the state Department of Labor reported. Metro Dalton, plagued by higher joblessness than most of the state with its dependence on the housing market, saw its mark drop to 8.8 percent, according to the state.

During the Great Recession, Hamilton County's jobless rate hit a high of 9.6 percent in February 2010. The rate in Whitfield County, Ga., (Dalton) had soared to 13.5 percent in November 2010.

Tennessee's unemployment rate for last month was 7.1 percent, down from a 7.3 percent September revised rate. Georgia's mark last month was 7.7 percent, off from 7.9 percent.

While both state jobless figures are above the national average of 5.8 percent, the local trend is clearly down.

"The rate fell as we had extremely strong job growth in October, which gave us the largest number of jobs in Georgia since May of 2008," said Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler in a statement.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said in Chattanooga recently that the state is making progress on the jobless rate. But, he said, there's weakness in some of Tennessee's rural areas.

"We're going to keep focusing on that," he said.

Hamilton County has seen growth in the automotive sector and more is expected with Volkswagen's plans to hire 2,000 additional workers starting next year for its expansion to build a new sport utility vehicle.

Also, VW supplier Plastic Omnium is beginning to hire the first of 300 employees for its $70 million Enterprise South industrial park plant that's under construction.

In Bradley County, Wacker is bringing on workers as it eyes a plant startup in the second half of 2015 with 650 people. The German polysilicon maker said earlier this year it's upping its plant investment again. It said it could put as much as $200 million more into its factory and push the cost to $2.4 billion -- the largest single private manufacturing project ever in Southeast Tennessee.

Steven Sawyer, manager of business development for a new staffing agency in Chattanooga, HTI Employment Solutions, said that helping Plastic Omnium find workers is why it initially came to the Scenic City. But, he said, the agency is confident it will grow its business beyond that company.

"We'll look to continue to develop the business," Sawyer said, adding that nearly all its work is in the manufacturing sector. With the auto suppliers in the area, and others expected to come, the Chattanooga area is a good fit, he said.

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com. or 423-757-6318.

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