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Jobs. Jobs. Jobs.

For anyone out of work, getting a job is the No. 1 focus of daily life. What's No. 2? Without a steady paycheck to support the family, second place lags far behind, whatever it is.

There is, though, room for optimism. People from other states are moving to Tennessee to look for work. Does that mean the home states of these transient job seekers — North and South Carolina, Florida and Alabama — are facing an even tougher employment climate than Tennessee?

Yes.

Does it mean the jobs situation in this state is good?

No way. Unemployment in the state spiked at 10.9 percent in Tennessee in December after five months of declining numbers. In Blount County, the jobless rate rose to 9.6 percent.

But the increase could just be a one-month blip. That's how Bill Fox, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee views it.

Jobs lost at the Saturn plant in Spring Hill were a contributing factor in December's numbers, according to Fox. Another explanation: More out-of-work people were looking for Christmas-season employment, but many were unsuccessful in their search. Retailers were cautious in hiring, and there weren't enough positions to accommodate the work hunters — but at least they made the effort.

Consider that Tennessee has lost 160,000 jobs in this recession. The last time that happened, the U.S. was in the grip of the Great Depression. It's no small feat that out-of-work Tennesseans were encouraged enough to be out there looking for December work.

Fox predicts the job market will get better. A slow improvement, to be sure, but he anticipates job gains will overtake losses this spring.

There's reason for hope. Tennessee's business structure is better positioned than most states for long-term recovery. According to the Business and Economic Research Center at Middle Tennessee State University, only one Southeastern state, Missouri, has a more diverse economy than Tennessee.

That's a lesson Blount County took to heart years ago. There was a time when ALCOA Inc. dominated the county's economy — another example of No. 1 being so important it didn't much matter who was in second place.

ALCOA's management anticipated conditions in the aluminum industry that would dictate significant reductions in force at Tennessee Operations. Local business and government leaders, as well as investors, began cooperating to acquire property to lure new jobs as ALCOA automated and downsized.

The General Assembly passed legislation that encouraged communities to organize to recruit business. The result in Blount County was the Chamber of Commerce's Industrial Development Board — now called the Economic Development Board.

These are tough times for many, but the task of recovery would be tougher still if the community had not formed public/private partnerships years ago. The effort can be summed up in one word: Diversify.

That philosophy is as sound today as it was then — for Blount County and for Tennessee.