The state's unemployment rate soared to 7.2 percent in September — its highest point in nearly 21 years — as analysts said they expect the job market to continue to worsen here.
"Tennessee, like the rest of the nation, is experiencing job losses across all industries," said James Neely, Tennessee Commissioner of Labor & Workforce Development.
Tennessee's unemployment rate was 4.9 percent in September 2007. The last time unemployment reached 7.2 percent or higher was in March 1987, officials said.
Turbulence in the financial markets, a housing slowdown, higher gasoline prices that dampen tourism and other factors are fueling job losses, analysts said. Bill Ingram, a Lipscomb University professor of economics and finance, described current conditions as "the perfect storm.
"It will probably get worse and will last longer than usual," Ingram said of the dimmer economy. "Consumption tends to be the primary driving mechanism of the economy. Firms out there are willing to produce products, as long as customers go out and buy them. Once consumption drops, they are forced to cut back."
From August to September, Tennessee lost jobs due to seasonal declines in the hospitality sector, as well as losses in manufacturing, trade, transportation and utilities, according to the state labor department.
Malacha Wade, 29, an unemployed worker, said there's stiffer competition for the computer networking jobs for which he has applied, and some employers require three years of experience for what had been entry-level jobs.
Wade quit his job delivering Coca-Cola products in August in order to seek a job based on his degree in computer science from Tennessee State University. "Competition is going to be hard," Wade said. "A lot of people don't have a job."
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