The unemployment rate in Tennessee fell last month to its lowest level since last summer and was only a tenth of a percent above its all-time low reached last spring, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development reported Thursday.
Despite higher interest rates from the Federal Reserve to slow the pace of the economy and inflation, employers across Tennessee added 16,700 jobs over the past year to cut Tennessee's jobless rate in March to 3.2%. The all-time low for unemployment in Tennessee was reached last spring when the jobless rate in the Volunteer State fell to 3.1%.
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In neighboring Georgia, the unemployment rate last month stayed at 3.1% in March as a record number of Georgians were on the job after employment in the Peach State grew by 55,400 jobs over the past 12 months to keep pace with an expanding workforce.
Both Tennessee and Georgia kept their state unemployment rates below the U.S. average last month of 3.8%.
Unemployment rate
The unemployment rate remained below the national average last month in Tennessee and Georgia:
— Georgia: 3.1%, unchanged from February.
— Tennessee: 3.2%, down from 3.3% in February.
— U.S. average: 3.8%, down from 3.9% in February.
Sources: Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Georgia Department of Labor.
"When it comes to building a strong economy, Georgia means business," Georgia Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson said in a statement Thursday. "Being recognized as an economic powerhouse always starts with consistency, the ability to adapt and strong local investments. Georgia excels at all three."
Despite the relatively low jobless rate in March, the average workweek for manufacturing employees in Tennessee last month shrank by about 30 minutes from February to March, while the average hourly wage paid to manufacturing workers dipped slightly from $24.78 an hour in February to $24.56 an hour last month.
— Compiled by Dave Flessner