Tennessee employers added 9,200 nonfarm jobs statewide
(UCBJ) — Tennessee’s unemployment rate held steady at 3.6% in March and once again stayed below the national average, according to new data released by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged from February’s 3.6% rate. One year ago, Tennessee’s unemployment rate sat at 3.5%.
Nationally, the unemployment rate in March was 4.3%, which was seven-tenths of a percentage point higher than Tennessee. Tennessee also continued adding jobs during the month. Between February and March, total nonfarm employment across the state increased by 12,100 jobs.
The biggest gains came in the health care and social assistance sector, followed by accommodation and food services and administrative, support and waste services.
Over the last year, Tennessee employers added 9,200 nonfarm jobs statewide. The largest increases over that span came in health care and social assistance, state government and administrative, support and waste services.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development also released county-level data Thursday showing nearly every county in the state saw improvement in March.
All but two of Tennessee’s 95 counties reported lower unemployment rates compared to February, and only six counties posted rates of 5% or higher.
Williamson County recorded the state’s lowest unemployment rate at 2.5%, down half a percentage point from the previous month.
Dickson County, Knox County, Cheatham County and Macon County followed closely behind at 2.6%.
Pickett County reported the highest unemployment rate in the state at 5.7%, though that was down 1 percentage point from February.
Perry County posted the second-highest unemployment rate at 5.4%, followed by Maury County and Meigs County at 5.1%.
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