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Tenn. Sees Employment Gains Eighth Straight Month

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — Good news on the jobs front as Tennessee’s March unemployment rate dipped just below 8 percent.

Jeff Hentschell with the Tennessee Department of Labor says the rate fell a tenth of a point to 7.9 percent. It was the eighth straight month of decline, and the rate is at its lowest level since November 2008.

Hentschell says Tennessee’s unemployment numbers are getting a boost from two surprising sectors.

“The number of jobs in construction over the winter was impressive. We don’t normally see growth in construction. We don’t normally see growth in manufacturing. This month we saw 1400 jobs created in manufacturing.”

Tennessee’s jobless rate now well below the national unemployment figure, which currently stands at 8.2 percent.