Unemployment rose last month across Tennessee but remained below the U.S. average.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said today that the state's jobless rate in August was up by a tenth of a percentage point to 4.4 percent. The increase in the unemployment rate came despite the addition of 7,300 jobs across the state and reflected an even bigger increase in the number of people looking for work.
By comparison, the US. jobless rate in August was 4.9 percent, unchanged from the previous month.
Over the past year, Tennessee's unemployment rate decreased from 5.6 percent to 4.4 percent while the national rate declined from 5.1 percent to 4.9 percent.
Over the past year, seasonally adjusted non-farm employment increased by 64,000 jobs in Tennessee, according to state jobs figures released today.