Business

Roane County’s unemployment rate took a big drop in March to 7.8 percent, according to statistics released late last month from the
Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
The state’s numbers show  that Roane County’s rate is down by 0.6 percent over the February rate — and 0.9 percent lower than in March 2010.
That means 26,060 workers in the county’s 28,250 labor force were employed in March.

Enthusiasm was contagious during last month’s Roane County Chamber of Commerce Home and Garden Show, and nowhere was it more evident than at the vast Tractor Supply Co. exhibit.
An array of lawn and gardening tools and supplies, bird feeders and decorative items interspersed through the area gave Roane Countians a preview of what they can expect to see and buy when the retailer moves into its new home in Rockwood.