Tennessee employers added 56,000 nonfarm jobs over the past year even as the state’s unemployment rate increased last month, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November was 3.5%, an increase of two-tenths of a percentage point over October’s rate. The rate also was 3.5% in November 2023.
Earlier this year, Tennessee reported a record-low unemployment rate of 3% for three months in a row.
Between October and November 2024, total nonfarm employment across the state increased by 6,300 jobs. The health care and social assistance sector accounted for the biggest gains, followed by the professional, scientific, and technical services sector, and local government.
Tennessee has added 56,000 nonfarm jobs since November 2023, the highest year-over-year jump in 2024. The largest increase was in the health care and social assistance sector. The professional, scientific, and technical services sector and the retail trade sector accounted for the next-largest increases.
TDLWD’s analysis of the November 2024 unemployment data is available here.
Despite the increase in the unemployment rate over the past month, Tennessee’s rate is still seven-tenths of a percentage point below the national rate of 4.2%. The U.S. rate rose one-tenth of a percentage point over its October rate and is half of a percentage point higher than a year ago.
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