State unemployment rate takes flight

Yes, those 4,000 Volkswagen jobs would sure come in handy right about now. The state announced Thursday that Tennessee’s unemployment rate soared to 6.4 percent in May. The full 1 percent jump marks the largest one-month increase since the state began tracking unemployment data in the 1970s.
‘My concern was that we would see more unfortunate news, more unhappy news, before we saw things turning to the good again,’ said Gov. Phil Bredesen.
While it may be depressing to see Tennessee unemployment above the national average of 5.5 percent, I’m going to remain optimistic. One reason is because I keep reading stories that indicate the economy is really not that bad. The media is just overblowing the problem, these critics suggest.
With that in mind, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. Don’t look at the bad side and see more people are without jobs. Look at the bright side and see that more people aren’t burdened with the responsibility of going to work every day.