Governor Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips on Thursday released the statewide unemployment rate for June 2018 and it marked an entire year the jobless figure in Tennessee has been 3.5 percent or lower.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for June is 3.5 percent, which is unchanged from the May 2018 figure.
In a year-to-year comparison, the June rate is 0.1 of a percentage point lower than it was in 2017.
Throughout the last 14 months, Tennessee has continued to experience historically low unemployment. Since May 2017 the statewide unemployment rate has been at or below 3.8 percent. April 2017 was the last time Tennessee’s rate was at 4.0 percent.
“To have an entire year with historically low unemployment is a remarkable milestone,” Governor Haslam said. “We have made tremendous progress over the last eight years by investing in Tennesseans through workforce development initiatives, creating pathways to higher education and fostering an economic environment where businesses can thrive and grow, and I know Tennessee will to lead in job creation.”
Tennessee also experienced substantial job growth between May and June of this year. Employers added an estimated 13,000 nonfarm jobs during the time period. The professional/business services, information, and leisure/hospitality industries experienced the biggest job gains in June.
“To see that many new jobs come online in June is great for all of Tennessee,” said Commissioner Phillips. “It is an indication that our workforce is prepared to meet the needs of today’s employers and we will continue to encourage that job growth across the state.”
Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for June 2018 experienced a slight increase to 4.0 percent, up 0.2 of a percentage point from May’s revised unemployment rate of 3.8 percent. Even with the small uptick, June’s national rate is 0.3 of a percentage point lower than it was the previous year.
The statewide unemployment rate is seasonally adjusted to eliminate the influences of weather, holidays, the opening and closing of schools, and other recurring seasonal events from an economic time series.
Tennesseans who are searching for employment opportunities can access the latest job openings, update their resumes, and sharpen their job interview skills by visiting thestate’s workforce website.
A complete analysis of Tennessee’s unemployment data for June 2018 can be found here.
The state of Tennessee will release the June 2018 county unemployment data on Thursday, July 26, 2018, at 1:30 p.m. CT.