With Tift County unemployment at 7.8 percent in September and expected to be 9 or 10 percent this month and next, membership at the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce is increasing.

“Chamber membership is up 20 percent this year, which is amazing,” said COC President and CEO Brad Day.

Day said some counties are seeing a 10 percent drop of COC membership.

“Businesses are realizing that they have to do more marketing,” Day said.

Day said the September unemployment figures don’t show the unemployment related to the recent COI and Fuji Film Processing closings here.

Day said the health care business is the only sector remaining somewhat stable during these tough economic times.

“Most all businesses, including non-profits, have been detrimentally affected by the economy,” Day said.

Tift County continues to be a hub for transportation, Day said, with a lot of tractor and truck dealers here. Freightliner is planning an expansion, which is good news, and Chili’s recent opening was a bright spot economically.

Tift County is part of a regional economy, Day said, and this region is reflective of the national economic scene.

“We are a hub for employment,” Day said. “Seventy percent of the employees of some firms here are from other counties.”

Over the past 12 months, 1,200 people from Tift county have been lost their jobs.

Those involved with economic development here work with others in the area through a Joint Development Authority.

“What’s good for one is good for everybody,” Day said.

One of the common misconceptions, Day said, is that all manufacturing jobs have gone to China.

“That’s not the case,” he said. “Toyota recently located a plant in northern Mississippi.”