Preliminary data from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) indicated Tennessee’s unemployment rate for May 2022 increased slightly from March and April’s record-breaking rate of 3.2%.
The seasonally adjusted statewide rate for the month of May was 3.3%, 0.1 of a percentage point higher than the previous month’s revised figure, according to a press release by TDLWD.
Tennessee's unemployment rate for May inched up ever so slightly from the all-time historic low. The rate is now 3.3%, up from 3.2% last month.
You can find a complete analysis of the May unemployment data here: https://t.co/7Fva2RPfNA pic.twitter.com/z7vez3ugD0— TN Dept of Labor & Workforce (@Jobs4_TN) June 16, 2022
The state’s civilian workforce grew in May and reached a new high. The seasonally adjusted number for the month came in at 3,405,582, up from 3,388,428 in April, according to TDLWD. Tennessee also saw an increase in the number of citizens who were employed in May, up nearly 15,000 workers to 3,293,564. The state’s Labor Force Participation rate also surpassed 61% for the first time in over two years.
Data shows that Tennessee employers added 3,700 nonfarm jobs to their payrolls between April and May. The construction sector added the most jobs. The state government sector saw the next largest increase, followed by the professional, scientific, and technical services sector.
Over the last year, the state’s nonfarm employment grew by 135,000 jobs. The largest increase came from the leisure and hospitality sector, followed by the trade, transportation, and utilities sector, and then the professional and business services sector.
The Tennessee Star previously reported only one Tennessee county had an unemployment rate above 5% during the month of April. The state of Tennessee will release unemployment data and workforce statistics for each county in the state from the month of May on Thursday, June 23, 2022, at 1:30 p.m. CDT, TDLWD noted in the press release.
Nationally, the unemployment rate for the United States was unchanged in May, mirroring the seasonally adjusted April rate of 3.6%, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
