Tennessee’s economic recovery continued in June as the statewide unemployment rate decreased to 4.9%, according to the latest data by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
The state’s new rate is 0.1 of a percentage point lower than May’s statistic of 5%. Tennessee’s unemployment rate has been at 5.1%, or lower, for the last six months. In March 2020, the last month before COVID-19 business closures impacted the economy, Tennessee’s unemployment rate was 4%.
One year ago, Tennessee’s statewide unemployment rate stood at 9.3%, which is 4.4 percentage points higher than the June 2021 rate.
Tennessee employers helped thousands of individuals return to the workforce in June. Total nonfarm employment increased by 22,100 jobs across the state. The largest number of new hires occurred in the local government sector. The accommodation/food services and administrative/support/waste services sectors accounted for the next highest number of hires.
Between June 2020 and June 2021, employers added 153,400 Tennesseans to their payrolls. The professional/business services sector was responsible for the largest portion of that job growth, followed by the leisure/hospitality and trade/transportation/utilities sectors.
The national unemployment rate did increase slightly in June, up 0.1 of a percentage point to 5.9%. In a year-to-year comparison, the United States unemployment rate was down 5.2 percentage points from the previous year.
TDLWD produces a complete analysis of the state’s unemployment data, including labor force estimates, which you can find here.
The state is ready to help job seekers become work-ready. The new website, TNWorkReady.com, is a one-stop resource for all of Tennessee’s workforce development resources.
Job seekers can find more than 255,000 open positions posted on Jobs4TN.gov that cover every skill level and are in every corner of the state.