New data from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development shows Tennessee’s economy continued to rebound in September as unemployment dropped for the fourth consecutive month. The seasonally adjusted figure for the month is set at 4.4 percent, inching even closer to pre-pandemic levels.
September’s rate is 0.2 of a percentage point lower than the previous month’s rate of 4.6 percent. It is just 0.4 of a percentage point higher than it was in March 2020, the month before COVID-19 business closures impacted Tennessee’s economy.
Over the past year, Tennessee's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has decreased 3.5 percentage points from 7.9 percent to 4.4 percent.
Total nonfarm employment decreased by 5,200 jobs between August and September. The largest decreases were in the administrative, support and waste services sector, followed by the construction and durable goods manufacturing sectors.
Between September 2020 and September 2021, nonfarm employment increased by 96,100 jobs across Tennessee. The largest increases occurred in the professional and business services sector, along with the leisure and hospitality and trade, transportation, and utilities sectors.
Nationally, the unemployment rate dropped to 4.8 percent in September, which was 0.4 of a percentage point lower than the August rate. In a year-to-year comparison, the United States rate is 3 percentage points lower than it was in September 2020.
Each month, TDLWD publishes a complete economic analysis of Tennessee’s unemployment data. That report is located here.
While the jobless situation continues to improve, many Tennesseans are still searching for meaningful employment. TDLWD has many resources available to help individuals navigate the more than 540,000 open positions in and around the state, as well as locate opportunities to improve skill sets or learn new, in-demand skills. Job seekers can find those resources at www.TNWorkReady.com.
The state of Tennessee will release county unemployment data on Thursday, Oct. 28, at 1:30 p.m. CDT.