Tennessee had the 5th highest jobless rate among the 50 states in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday. Tennessee’s January unemployment rate of 6.7 percent, up a tenth of a percent from December, was exceeded only by Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada and California.
Overall, the BLS said unemployment rates fell in 24 states in January and rose in just eight, the latest evidence that hiring is strong across the country. The Labor Department said Tuesday that jobless rates were unchanged from December in 18 states and in Washington, D.C.
North Dakota has the nation’s lowest jobless rate, 2.8 percent, a sign that falling oil prices had yet to cause major layoffs in a state that has benefited from an energy boom. Mississippi and Nevada each had the highest unemployment rate, 7.1 percent.