Tennessee's August 2026 unemployment rate remains steady

Tennessee’s August unemployment rate held steady for a second month at 3.4%. Data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) indicates the rate for July and August is the lowest unemployment Tennessee has experienced this year, and is down one-tenth of a percentage point from August 2025. The national unemployment rate also remained steady at 4.1% in both July and August and is down from 4.3% in August 2025. The state saw an increase of 1,800 nonfarm jobs between July and August 2026 and the addition of 16,400 jobs year-over-year for August. The biggest month-over-month gains were in the leisure and hospitality, government, and construction sectors while the biggest year-over-year gains were in the healthcare and social assistance, administrative support and waste services, and the leisure and hospitality sector. Full sis of the August 2026 unemployment dataand analysis can be found on the TDLWD website.