DeKalb Jobless Rate Dropped to 3.3% in December

January 27, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Nearly every county in Tennessee including DeKalb County ended 2022 with lower unemployment rates, according to the December 2022 data released by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Eighty-nine of the state’s 95 counties reported rates that decreased in December. Three counties experienced steady unemployment during the month, while unemployment increased in the remaining three counties.

DeKalb County’s jobless rate for December, 2022 was 3.3%, down from 3.8% in November and below 3.4% in December 2021.

The local labor force for December 2022 was 7,537. A total of 7,289 were employed and 248 were unemployed.

Williamson County led the state with the lowest unemployment rate. At 2.1%, the county’s rate dropped 0.4 of a percentage point from the revised November rate.

Cheatham, Moore, and Wilson counties had the next lowest rate in the state at 2.2%. In Cheatham and Moore counties, the December rate dropped 0.3 of a percentage point when compared to the previous month. Wilson County’s rate was down 0.4 of a percentage point.

Bledsoe County’s rate was the highest in the state, but at 5.3%, unemployment in the county did drop by 0.1 of a percentage point in December.

With a rate of 4.8%, Perry County had the next highest unemployment for the month. Its rate was down 0.2 of a percentage point when compared to the previous month’s rate. Lake County’s unemployment ranked next on the list at 4.7%, down from a rate of 4.8% in November.

Statewide, Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady in December at 3.5%. Nationally, unemployment for the month dropped from 3.6% to 3.5%.

Unlike statewide unemployment rates, county data is not seasonally adjusted to take into consideration seasonal impacts on unemployment.

Employers across the state need a skilled and qualified workforce to help their businesses grow, which will help the state’s economy continue to thrive. Job seekers in Tennessee can search through hundreds of thousands of job openings at Jobs4TN.gov. They can also learn more about free Adult Education or college prep classes, find a Registered Apprenticeship Program to become a part of, or locate the American Job Center closest to them by logging onto TNWorkReady.com.

January 27, 2023
By:

State Rep. Michael Hale, R-Smithville, has filed legislation that would create a three-month sales tax holiday on food purchased by senior citizens in Tennessee.

House Bill 243 would make the retail sale of food and food ingredients tax free statewide for anyone 70 years of age and older between July 1 and Sept. 30 of this year.

“Senior citizens, especially those on a fixed income, are really struggling right now because of inflation,” Hale said. “These rising prices on everything from the grocery store to the gas pump unfortunately mean that some may be forced to choose between buying food or paying their bills. This legislation is one way that we as a state can provide additional relief to those Tennesseans in need of assistance.”

The proposed tax cut would not apply to alcoholic beverages, tobacco, candy, dietary supplements or prepared food.

Last year, Republicans approved approximately $300 million in historic tax cuts for Tennesseans. Those included sales tax holidays on food, clothing and school supplies last summer along with the removal of the state’s portion of license plate registration fees for one year.

Additional information about House Bill 243 can be found here.
https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=HB0243&ga=113

Michael Hale represents House District 40, which includes Cannon, DeKalb, Jackson, Smith and part of Wilson counties. He is a member of the Local Government Committee, Commerce Committee, Business and Utilities Subcommittee and Cities and Counties Subcommittee. He can be reached at rep.michael.hale@capitol.tn.gov or by calling 615-741-2192.

January 26, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

An already busy and dangerous intersection is about to get even busier and potentially more dangerous.

Construction will soon be completed on a new Bizzy Mart convenience market/truck stop at the intersection of Highway 70 & 83 (New Home/Allen Ferry Road) near Kilgore’s Restaurant.

Over the years this intersection has become a hot spot for car crashes including at least one fatality even with caution lights there. An 83-year-old woman died in a wreck there in April 2015. With another business opening up and added traffic creating more congestion, both County Mayor Matt Adcock and Smithville Mayor Josh Miller believe the caution lights should be replaced with red lights.

Both Mayors Adcock and Miller said while they are pleased that DeKalb County is getting a new business, they want to also look out for the safety of the public. They have both sent letters to State Senator Janice Bowling, State Representative Michael Hale, and officials of the Tennessee Department of Transportation to make a formal request for the red lights.

State Representative Hale told WJLE that he supports a traffic light at this intersection but that a TDOT study will have to take place first and TDOT officials have informed him that study will be completed within eight weeks after which a decision will be made.

“I was contacted by Smithville Mayor Josh Miller about the concern of the traffic with the convenience store going in there at the intersection. As most people are aware that has already been an intersection of concern from a safety standpoint. After Mayor Miller reached out to me I called Bo Hoskins, our District TDOT representative and he checked to see if a study had already been done with the new business going in, but no study had been done so he gave me the instructions as to what the city and or county mayor needed to do to request a traffic study and the name of the engineer to send it to at TDOT. Both mayors have now done that (sent letters to TDOT) and sent me a copy. As most of us are aware that is a very busy intersection and its dark there at night so I don’t think anybody would question the safety concern and if it (traffic light) is installed based on the study as to a warranted need then the state would install it and turn it over to the city to maintain. I am in full support of it because the safety of our citizens is top priority,” said Representative Hale.

In a letter to TDOT, Mayor Miller wrote “I have been asked numerous times about a traffic light being installed at the intersection of US 70 and New Home/Allen Ferry Road (Highway 83). Multiple wrecks have already occurred there and with the new truck stop that will be in operation at this intersection, I believe a traffic light is warranted. I would appreciate it if a traffic light study could be done. Thank you for your consideration,” said Mayor Miller.

In his letter to state officials, County Mayor Adcock wrote “the DeKalb County Government is striving to bring the safest atmosphere to its citizens as possible. This letter is to address a concern of public safety. The area of interest is the intersection of US 70 and State Highway 83. This intersection has a bad reputation in our community for automobile accidents. Currently there are only flashing caution lights at this intersection,” said Mayor Adcock.

“Currently, there is a new gas station/convenience market under construction in the corner of this intersection. This high-volume area is about to be even increasingly strained by the influx of traffic going in and out of this new convenience store. The intersection already has a restaurant across from this new development. Although we appreciate getting this new business for our town and county, we believe the number of automobile accidents could increase in this area due to the added traffic,” said Mayor Adcock.

“After speaking to Smithville Mayor Josh Miller, we both believe that this intersection could become more dangerous and agree that the best option for this situation would be to install a traffic light there. Traffic lights would make this intersection much more safe. We humbly ask for the State of Tennessee to install a traffic light at this intersection,” wrote County Mayor Adcock.

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