By DON FENLEY

TRI-CITIES, Tenn. – The local economy added 4,800 jobs last year. That’s a preliminary adjusted count. A final number will be available in a couple of months when the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) completes an annual adjustment.

Employers added an average of 398 job a month during the year. The average growth rate is down from the previous year.

Last year’s largest gains came in the Leisure and Hospitality Sector, followed by education and health services, retail trade, then construction.

December’s employment was also up by almost 4,800 year over year and the labor force increased by almost 5,000. Last month’s unemployment rate was 3.2% in the region’s two metro areas plus Greene and Johnson counties.

Statistically, the region is at full employment with a labor shortage.

WHO’S HIRING  

There are 6,779 job openings and 6,447 candidates in NE TENN. That’s slightly lower than last month, and the list of firms with the most open jobs is familiar.

• Ballad – 649
• Food City – 234
• Ingles – 221
• ETSU – 162
• Tacala, LLC – 104

FASTEST JOBS GROWTH  

Fast food and counter workers – $22,052 annual avg. wage.

Retail salespersons – $27,540 annual avg. wage.

Wait staff – $19,880 annual avg. wage.

Customer service representatives – $36,264 annual avg. wage

Cashiers – $22,461 annual avg. wage

INDUSTRIES WITH MOST ADVERTISED JOBS

Health Care and Social Assistance – 1,362

Retail Trade – 965

Accommodations and Food Services – 489

Manufacturing – 345

Educational Services – 317

Administrative and Support, Waste Management, and Remediation Services – 280

Wholesale Trade – 165

Construction – 121

PRIVATE SECTOR WAGES  

Private sector wages in both metro areas are outperforming last year, and the monthly increases are higher than the inflation rate. Wages and the growth rate in the Johnson City metro area are higher than they are in Kingsport-Bristol.

Average wages in both metro areas are lower than the state average.

Johnson City’s average of $26.68 an hour is up $2.94 (12.4%) from last year.

Kingsport-Bristol’s average is $22.69, up 3.5% from last year.

The regional average wage is $24.90 an hour.

The state average is $29.68 an hour.

LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE  

The NE Tenn. labor force participation rate increased 0.4% to 52.3%.

The US rate is 62.7% and it’s 59.4% in Tennessee.

Johnson Co. has the highest participation rate in NE TN (57.2%) followed by Washington Co. (55.8%).

UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS

There were 1,277 claims for the week ending Jan. 13 in NE TN.

Sullivan Co. has the most initial claims and manufacturing is the top industry with claims.

Categories: LABOR MARKET