State unemployment 3.5% in December

In a year-to-year comparison, the statewide unemployment rate is down 0.1 of a percentage point from 3.6% to 3.5%.

Tennessee employers sustained job growth in December, adding 1,500 nonfarm positions statewide. The largest increase came in the trade, transportation, and utilities sector. The government sector added the second-largest number of jobs, followed by the mining, logging, and construction sector.

Over the year, Tennessee’s businesses helped the state’s economy grow with an increase of 104,800 new nonfarm jobs. The education and health services sector experienced the largest increase in new jobs, followed by the trade, transportation, and utilities sector, and then the leisure and hospitality sector.

Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased slightly when compared to November, down 0.1 of a percentage point to 3.5%.

Employers across the state continue to look for skilled and qualified workers to help their businesses and the state’s economy thrive. Job seekers in Tennessee can search through hundreds of thousands of job openings or find the American Job Center closest to them by logging onto TNWorkReady.com.

The state of Tennessee will release unemployment data for all 95 counties on Thursday, Jan. 26.