By Carrie Pond
Nashville, TN – Despite a worsening national jobless rate, Tennessee's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped slightly in October from the 21-year high set a month earlier. About 212 thousand Tennesseans- or 7 percent of the state's work force- were unemployed last month. That's down 2 tenths of a point from September, but up from 5 percent in the same month a year ago. The national unemployment rate stands at 6 and a half percent. Tennessee's Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner, James Neeley, warned this week that the state's unemployment trust fund could run out of money by 2010 if jobless rates increase. Tennessee has lost almost 11,000 manufacturing jobs and 6,500 jobs each in the hospitality and professional services sectors compared with last October.