Unemployment in Tennessee last month edged higher for the third consecutive month despite above average growth in jobs in the state over the past year.
The labor force in Tennessee grew by more than the 4,000 net new jobs added across Tennessee during July, according to figures released today by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. As a result, the jobless rate for Tennessee during July rose by 0.1% to 3.5% last month - the highest seasonally adjusted jobless rate since last August but still below the U.S. rate of 3.7%.
The household survey showed Tennessee employers added an estimated 103,700 jobs in the past 12 months, boosting employment by 3.2% in Tennessee, or more than triple the rate of growth for the country as a whole. A separate business survey showed the state added 55,100 new positions, with the majority of those jobs in the leisure/hospitality, manufacturing, and trade/transportation/utilities sectors.
"Summer is a time of year when Tennesseans are in transition," Tennessee Labor Commissioner Jeff McCord said today. "People are moving, coming home and going back to school, changing jobs, and taking time for themselves which impacts unemployment at various levels across the state."
Preliminary wage data released today also showed that average hourly earnings for manufacturing workers in Tennessee rose by 1.6% in the past year to $20.18 an hour. But the typical workweek for factory employees in Tennessee last week was slightly shorter than a year ago, cutting average weekly earnings in the state by 2.3% from a year earlier.