Johnson City employers were busy adding jobs in May while Kingsport-Bristol was cutting. At month’s end it was a net loss of 100 jobs for the region.
May’s adjusted jobs total for May was 210,200, down from 300 the previous year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The region’s unemployment rate increased to 3.1% while the number of people in the both local metro areas plus Greeneville and Johnson Co. increased by almost 400 from the previous month. The unemployment rate has been inching up since its March when it was 3%.
The gradual slowdown in a sign labor market is cooling and fosters hope for a Federal Reserve rate cut in months to come. The biggest cuts in May jobs came in the government, retail and wholesale trade sectors.
According the Jobs4TN website there are 7,393 job openings in Northeast Tennessee and 5,143 job candidates.
Companies with the most job opening and number of open jobs are:
- Ballad Health – 1,004
- Food City – 339
- East Tennessee State University – 150
- GPM Investments – 139
- Tacala – 120
The site also reports that the average hourly wage for the region’s 194,122 workers is $27.38 an hour. That average assumes a 40-hour work week.
The state average wage is $32 an hour.
The average hourly private sector wage during May in the Johnson City metro area was $29.21 up from $25.17 last year.
The average in the Kingsport-Bristol metro area was $23.13 an hour, up from $21.95 last year.
The top growing occupations in NE Tenn and their average wage are:
- Fast food and counter workers – $26,662
- Retail salespersons – $28,751
- Waiters and waitresses- $21,677
- Customer service representatives – $35,881
- Cashiers – $25,051