Unemployment dropped in Georgia to a record low of 3.2% last month while Tennessee ended the year with a jobless rate of 3.3% - just a tenth of a percentage point higher than the all-time low reached in Tennessee during February.
State data released Thursday in showed both Tennessee and Georgia had lower unemployment in December than the U.S. average of 3.5%. But the pace of new hiring in both states slowed last year from the faster growth rates in the previous three years.
"The economy continues to do well, but the pace of that growth, especially as measured by employment, has to slow because labor force growth itself is slowing," said Dr. William Fox, director of the Boyd Center for Economic Research at the University of Tennessee. "The unemployment rate is so low now that we don't have the capacity to sustain the kinds of growth rates that we saw over the last decade."
Jobless in December
* 3.2% - Unemployment rate in Georgia, down 0.1% from the previous month* 3.3% - Unemployment rate in Tennessee, unchanged from the previous month* 3.5% - Unemployment average for the U.S., unchanged from the previous monthSources: Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Georgia Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Tennessee's jobless rate last month remained unchanged from November and employers added a net 2,000 more jobs in the month or 49,200 jobs over the past 12 months.
"It's good to start 2020 with news that unemployment held steady during the busy holiday season in December," Tennessee Labor Commissioner Jeff McCord said. "During the new year, we will continue working to help even more Tennesseans participate in meaningful employment."
In Georgia, unemployment dropped by a tenth of a percentage point to 3.2% with employers adding a net 7,832 jobs last month. Over the past 12 months, Georgia employers have added nearly 47,000 more jobs.
Georgia's labor force continued to grow but struggled to keep pace with job creation and employment numbers.
"We do need our labor force to expand at a faster pace," Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said. "Right now, we are growing jobs three times as fast."
Nationally, unemployment remained steady last month. The seasonally adjusted rate for December 2019 is 3.5%, the same as November's rate.
File photo by Dave Flessner / Restaurants and other businesses are eager to hire workers with unemployment at or near historic lows in Tennessee and Georgia.Fox said he expects the economy will continue to grow and enter its 12th year of sustained growth this summer - the longest economic upturn in U.S. history. But the pace of hiring is likely to slow from previous years.
In an employer survey released Thursday by the outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas, 51% of companies said they plan to hire this year, down slightly from nearly 55% of companies that reported they would be hiring in 2019 in the same survey conducted at the end of 2018.
More than 18% of companies surveyed by Challenger, Gray and Christmas said low demand and economic uncertainty would slow hiring, compared to 9% of respondents who reported this in the 2018 survey.
"The fact that half of companies are hiring this year is a positive for job seekers and indicates companies are continuing to enjoy a solid economy," said Andrew Challenger, a vice president at Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.. "That said, we are seeing some indicators, such as slow-growing wages, an increase in job cuts, and an exodus of CEOs, that may portend rough waters ahead."
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6340.