Tennessee unemployment down slightly in March

Tennessee’s unemployment rate slightly decreased to 3.4% in March after holding steady at 3.5% for five months. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) said the decrease put the seasonally adjusted rate for March just 0.2 of a percentage point away from Tennessee’s all-time low jobless number of 3.2%. In a year-to-year comparison, the statewide unemployment rate increased slightly from 3.3% to 3.4%. Employers across the state continue to add workers to their payrolls, creating 1,700 new nonfarm jobs between February and March. The largest increase occurred in the leisure and hospitality sector. The manufacturing sector and the education and health services sector had the next largest month-to-month increases. Tennessee also experienced an increase in nonfarm employment over the last year. Employers added 96,900 jobs across the state. The leisure and hospitality sector, the education and health services, and then the government sector accounted for the biggest gains in employment.