Tennessee Unemployment Rate Remains Well Below U.S. Rate

NASHVILLE – Tennessee’s unemployment rate increased slightly last month but is still nearly 1 full percentage point below the national rate, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD).

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.2% in September, up one-tenth of a percentage point over the previous month. The state saw a record-low rate of 3% in May, June, and July.

When compared with last year, Tennessee’s unemployment rate is two-tenths of a percentage point lower than its September 2023 rate of 3.4%.

Tennessee employers added 3,300 nonfarm jobs between August and September 2024. The health care and social assistance sector accounted for the largest increase, followed by the retail trade sector and the professional, scientific, and technical services sector.

Over the past year, total nonfarm employment across the state increased by 31,100 jobs, with the biggest gains in the education and health services sector, followed by the trade, transportation, and utilities sector, and other services.

Even though Tennessee experienced a small uptick in its unemployment rate over the past month, the state’s rate is still nearly 1 full percentage point below the U.S. rate of 4.1%. The national rate dropped one-tenth of a percentage point over the previous month. It increased three-tenths of a percentage point from its rate in September 2023.

The 10th anniversary of National Apprenticeship Week is November 17-23. In conjunction with that milestone, Apprenticeship TN will hold three regional conferences in Tennessee — in Knoxville, Spring Hill, and Stanton — in November.

Apprenticeships are proven earn-while-you-learn training programs. Apprentices receive supervised on-the-job training and related instruction, and employers gain skilled and qualified workers.

The state of Tennessee will release the September 2024 county unemployment data on Thursday, October 24, at 1:30 p.m. CDT.