SHARE Memphis metro area unemployment rate

By Kevin McKenzie of The Commercial Appeal

Greater Memphis' jobless rate fell in February to the lowest level in nearly nine years, spurred by a surge in hiring.

The unemployment rate measured 5 percent last month in the metropolitan area following a gain of 8,000 full- and part-time jobs, according to a labor report released Friday by Tennessee officials.

Not since the less turbulent era in summer August 2007, a few months before the Wall Street collapse provoked the worst global crash since the 1930s, has the jobless rate been this low in metro Memphis.

It reflects a slow, steady improvement in the job picture since the unemployment rate peaked at 10.8 percent in early 2010 in the metro area, nine counties in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee surrounding Memphis.

In February, a survey of metro-area households found 588,780 people employed, a number still below the all-time peak of about 604,000 workers employed in summer 2007, yet sharply improved compared to a year ago. Since then, employers have added almost 25,000 workers, including the 8,000 hires last month.

Tennessee's Department of Labor and Workforce Development released the jobs report but did not identify the industries where hiring has improved. Another report shows hiring rose 5 percent since last year in the metro-area's transportation industry, 3 percent in financial services and 2 percent in construction, while government employment fell 2.5 percent and information technology fell 1.7 percent. This report is by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Among major metro areas in Tennessee, the Memphis area's 5 percent remained above 4.8 percent in the Chattanooga area, 4.2 percent for Knoxville and 3.5 percent for Nashville, according to the statistics released Thursday.

The preliminary national and Tennessee unemployment rates for February were both 4.9 percent.

Within the Memphis metro area, unemployment rates included 4.9 percent in Shelby County, 4.8 percent in Fayette, 5.5 percent in Tipton, 5.3 percent in Crittenden and 5.2 percent in the Mississippi portion.

Among Shelby County municipalities with populations of more than 25,000, unemployment rates were 3.8 percent for Bartlett, 3.3 percent for Collierville, 3.4 percent for Germantown and 5.3 percent for Memphis.