CHATTANOOGA -
(WRCB) - The state labor department says the unemployment rate for Tennessee fell in December.
Tennessee Commissioner of Labor & Workforce Development Karla Davis announced today Tennessee's unemployment rate for December fell to 8.7 percent, down from the November revised rate of 9.1.
The national unemployment rate for December 2011 was 8.5 percent, a decrease of 0.2 percentage point from the November rate.
"This is the lowest unemployment rate Tennessee has experienced since December 2008 when the rate was 8.4 percent," Commissioner Davis said. "The drop in Tennessee's rate is largely due to a notable increase of 11,200 employed persons from November to December."
UT Economist Bill Fox states the Tennessee rate parallels the national picture. "The drop in Tennessee's unemployment rate mirrors what is happening nationally, but Tennessee has had much stronger employment growth."
