State's Unemployment Inches Upwards

As Tennessee employers prepared for the busy holiday season, new data from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development showed more Tennesseans were available to work in November 2023 when compared to the previous month.

While the state's seasonally adjusted Labor Force Participation Rate remained steady at 59.4%, estimates show the number of Tennesseans not working increased by slightly more than 5,000 individuals. That change caused the unemployment rate to inch up to 3.5%, from 3.3% percent in October.

In a year-to-year comparison, Tennessee's latest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged and matched the November 2022 rate of 3.5%.

Tennessee employers increased their payrolls by 19,500 nonfarm positions over the last year. The healthcare and social assistance sector saw the most year-to-year growth. The professional, scientific, and technical services sector added the next highest number of jobs and was followed by the local government sector.

Between October and November, Tennessee did experience a decrease of 4,400 nonfarm jobs. The administrative, support, and waste services sector lost the most positions. The retail trade sector accounted for the next highest job loss, followed by the transportation, warehousing, and utilities sector.

A complete analysis of Tennessee's November 2023 unemployment data is available here.

The nation's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November came in at 3.7%, 0.2 of a percentage point higher than Tennessee's rate for the month. The new national rate dropped 0.2 of a percentage point when compared to the previous month's rate of 3.9% but was up 0.1 of a percentage point from the 3.6% rate in November 2022.

Tennesseans looking to start the new year with a new job can begin that search at one of nearly 80 American Job Centers across the state. Career specialists work one-on-one with job seekers to help them find employment, training for new career opportunities, and programs that can help remove any barriers that are keeping them from advancing in the workforce. All the services the state offers come at no cost to Tennesseans. This interactive map will guide job seekers to the American Job Center that is closest to them.