State Unemployment Holds Steady in January

NASHVILLE — Unemployment in Tennessee held steady in January, matching the rate from December, according to new data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD). The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the month came in at 3.7%, while December’s rate was revised to 3.7%.

In a year-to-year comparison, statewide unemployment for January went from 3.2% to 3.7%.

Tennessee continued to outperform the U.S. unemployment rate in January and was three-tenths of a percentage point below the national rate of 4%. The U.S. rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point from a month ago and is up three-tenths of a percentage point from its January 2024 rate of 3.7%.

Over the past year, Tennessee employers added 21,500 jobs. Government accounted for the biggest gains, followed by the Mining, Logging, and Construction and the Leisure and Hospitality sectors.

Between December 2024 and January 2025, total nonfarm employment in Tennessee decreased by 10,100 jobs. The largest decreases were in the Private Education and Health Services, Accommodation and Food Services, and the Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities sectors.

A complete economic analysis of the January 2025 statewide unemployment data is available here.

Earning a High School Equivalency (HSE) diploma can help increase the job prospects for hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans.

For adult students in Tennessee, the pathway toward attaining their HSE diploma has never had so many options to meet their needs. Through the New Pathways program, Tennessee offers five test options — more than any other state.

Because of the program’s success, Tennessee’s adult education program is the most improved in the country, according to new rankings from the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education.

Tennesseans can take adult education classes at no cost.

The state of Tennessee will release January 2025 unemployment data for each of the 95 counties on Thursday, March 13, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. CDT.