NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Jobless rates went down in all 95 Tennessee counties from August to September, the state labor department reported Thursday, a sweep that left only two counties at or above 5%.
Eight counties shared the lowest rate in the state at 2.7%: Cheatham, Dickson, Macon, Rutherford, Sevier, Trousdale, Williamson and Wilson. Bledsoe and Sumner came next at 2.8%, filling out the top 10.
At the other end, rural Perry County had the highest rate at 5.1%, though even there it fell four-tenths of a point in a month. Hancock County followed at 5%, down half a point, and Meigs County was at 4.6%.
The county figures came a week after the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development put the statewide rate at 3.4% for September. That seasonally adjusted rate has now held for three straight months, sits a tenth of a point below a year ago and remains well under the national rate of 4.2%. Before this summer, the state had last been at 3.4% or lower in July 2024.
Employers in Tennessee added 28,400 nonfarm jobs over the past year, led by leisure and hospitality, then health care and social assistance, then state government. Payrolls grew by 2,500 jobs from August to September alone.
County numbers are not seasonally adjusted, unlike the statewide rate, so the two are not a direct comparison.
The state is also steering money toward training. TNWorks, the six-agency hiring effort Gov. Bill Lee started a year ago, says it has worked with 6,300 employers so far, and its new TNTalent program lets Tennessee companies draw on $5 million in federal funds to train workers for nuclear energy, AI infrastructure and advanced manufacturing.
The state plans to release October statewide data on Nov. 19. People looking for work can get free help with resumes and interview skills at American Job Centers across the state.
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