Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips announced Thursday that unemployment across Tennessee remained low at the start of 2018. Data released today revealed the preliminary statewide unemployment rate for January 2018 was 3.3 percent, which matched the revised rate for December 2017.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in January was 1.2 percent lower than the rate for the same month one year ago and has remained 3.3 percent since September 2017. Tennessee’s statewide unemployment rate has been below 4 percent since May 2017.
“To have this long stretch of low unemployment in Tennessee is a true testament to the economic climate in the state,” Governor Haslam said.
“Many employers continue to tap into the Tennessee’s talented workforce, and Tennessee will lead in job creation by continuing to focus on workforce development.”
The wholesale trade sector in Tennessee saw the biggest gain in jobs during January. Health care and social assistance ranked second in job growth during the month.
The national unemployment rate also remained steady in January, mirroring the December 2017 rate of 4.1 percent.
“More than 3.1 million Tennesseans are currently working, but the statistics show there are another 100,000 citizens who are looking for work,” according to Comm. Phillips. “The state and its employment partners are working each and every day to help anyone who wants to work find a job.”
Tennessee has a network of 22 comprehensive and 53 affiliated American Job Centers across the state. Job seekers can utilize job centers to search for employment, update their resumes and learn how to improve their job interview techniques. They can also find many of these resources on the state’s workforce website.
A complete analysis of the January 2018 seasonally adjusted unemployment rate can be found here.
The county unemployment rates for January 2018 will be released on Thursday, March 15. The statewide unemployment rate for February 2018 will be issued on Thursday, March 22 and the February county rates will be issued on Thursday, March 29.