Unemployment in the state of Tennessee reached a two-year low in December, according to new data released by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The state ended 2021 with an unemployment rate of 3.8%, which was 0.2 of a percentage point lower than the rate it recorded in November.
Over the past year, Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by 1.8 percentage points from 5.6% to 3.8%.
Tennessee has not seen unemployment at this level since January 2020 when it had a rate of 3.7%.
The state experienced slight increases in unemployment in February and March of that year before COVID-19 business closures dramatically impacted the state?s workforce. In April 2020, Tennessee reached a record high unemployment rate at 15.8%. The workforce has been recovering ever since then.