NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Welcome news on the jobs front.
Tennessee's October unemployment rate dropped to 9.6 percent in October, down from 9.8 percent the previous month.
Tennessee's unemployment rate is still well above the national average of 9 percent.
State Labor Commissioner Karla Davis says jobs added in education and health services fueled the employment hike.
Dr. Murat Arik with the Middle Tennessee State Center for Business and Economic Research says the numbers are mostly good news.
But he also says a deeper look reveals what he calls a structural problem: Too many workers with the wrong skills or living in the wrong place.
"There are more and more people in the labor force and taking on the new jobs. On the other hand, the number of people unemployed is stable at around 9 percent. That basically indicates some of the structural issues the economy is going through right now."
The Tennessee Department of Labor will release it’s county and city level unemployment data for October at the end of the month.