Unemployment up in Tennessee

Unemployment in Tennessee last month rose twice as fast as the national average.

The revised unemployment rate rose one percentage point in Tennessee from April to May, while the national rate rose half of a percentage point.

Governor Phil Bredesen says the state is preparing for tough economic times.

“One month doesn’t a complete story make, but it’s not good news and, um, and I think just that, you know, keeping our nose to the grindstone and keeping the budget tight, and going through with the buyouts and those kinds of things, makes even more sense today than it did a month or two ago.”

Bredesen says that with increasing gas prices, some people may have gone back into the work force to get second jobs.

The state lost 8,500 manufacturing jobs over the last year. However, the educational and medical fields have increased employment by 7,900 jobs.