(The Center Square) – Tennessee’s September unemployment rate remained at 3.6%, according to statistics released by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
The numbers are the first to be released since August, due to the federal government shutdown. The state also gained 3,400 jobs between August and September, most of them in the accommodations and food services sector, the department said.
Only four of the state’s 95 counties had an unemployment rate of 5% or more. Perry County, located in the western portion of the state, had the highest rate at 5.6%, followed by Hardeman County at 5.1%. Lauderdale and Johnson County’s rates are at 5%.
Sevier County, which includes the popular cities of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg along with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, had the lowest jobless rate at 2.8%. Williamson County, a Nashville suburb, also had an employment rate of 2.8%, according to the department.
Tennessee’s unemployment rate remained below the national average of 4.4% but wages did not, according to the statistics.
In September, average weekly earnings in Tennessee increased by $13.65 to $1,031.28. Nationally, average weekly earnings rose by $18.63 to $1,213.43.
Tennessee workers earn an average hourly wage of $24.85, a 21-cent increase. The national average is $29.31 an hour, according to the department.
