A year-to-year comparison of recently released unemployment data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) shows the July 2019 statewide seasonally adjusted rate of 3.5 percent matches the figure from the same month a year ago.
The July 2019 statistic represents a small increase of 0.1 of a percentage point when compared to June’s revised unemployment rate of 3.4 percent.
“Summer is a time of year when Tennesseans are in transition,” said TDLWD Commissioner Jeff McCord.
“People are moving, coming home and going back to school, changing jobs, and taking time for themselves which impacts unemployment at various levels across the state.”
While the unemployment rate did inch upward, Tennessee employers still created thousands of new jobs in July. Nonfarm employment increased across the state by 4,000 jobs between June and July. The leisure/hospitality sector saw the most growth, followed by the manufacturing and education/health services sectors.
Over the last 12 months, nonfarm employment in Tennessee grew by 55,100 new positions, with the majority of those jobs in the leisure/hospitality, manufacturing, and trade/transportation/utilities sectors.
Nationally, the unemployment situation remained steady in July. The seasonally adjusted rate of 3.7 percent mirrored the United States rate from June. In a year-to-year comparison, unemployment across the country dropped by 0.2 of a percentage point last month compared to the same time period in 2018.
You can find a complete analysis of the July 2019 unemployment statistics for Tennessee, along with wage and employment data for the state, by clicking this link.
The state of Tennessee makes a wide range of job search assistance available through its workforce development website,
www.Jobs4TN.gov. Job seekers can navigate nearly 200,000 current job openings; as well as take advantage of free online resume assistance, job interview advice and other services when they visit the site.
Individual unemployment rates for each of Tennessee’s 95 counties will be available at 1:30 p.m. CT Thursday, Aug. 22.