Tennessee unemployment rate holds at 3.4% for third straight month
The state added 28,400 nonfarm jobs over the past year, the labor department says; county figures come Oct. 22.
NASHVILLE - Tennessee's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.4% in September, unchanged for a third straight month, according to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
The department said the rate was down one-tenth of a percentage point from a year earlier and below the U.S. rate of 4.2%. Before July, the state last posted a rate of 3.4% or lower in July 2024, it said.
Tennessee employers added 28,400 nonfarm jobs over the past year, led by leisure and hospitality, then health care and social assistance, and state government, according to the release. Total nonfarm employment rose by 2,500 jobs from August to September.
The figures are statewide; the release does not break out Davidson County or the Nashville area. The department said it will release September county unemployment data on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 1:30 p.m.
The release also promoted TNTalent, a state program it said offers Tennessee employers $5 million in federal funding for workforce training in nuclear energy, AI infrastructure and advanced manufacturing.
Source: Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development news release, Oct. 15, 2026 (https://www.tn.gov/workforce/general-resources/news/2026/10/15/tennessee-unemployment-rate-holds-steady-for-third-month.html)