The State of Tennessee says that in November 2025, Tennessee’s labor market showed positive momentum as the state entered the holiday season. The seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment rate declined slightly by 0.1 percentage point from the previous year to 3.6%, reflecting a stronger workforce compared to November 2024.

Nonfarm employment rose by 7,600 jobs over the month, with the largest gains in private education and health services, other services, and administrative/support/waste services sectors. On a year-over-year basis, the state added 34,800 jobs, led by strong growth in professional and business services, trade/transportation/utilities, and leisure/hospitality sectors.

County-level data remained encouraging, with 87 of Tennessee’s 95 counties reporting unemployment rates below 5%, and only eight counties between 5% and 10%. Williamson County achieved the lowest rate at 2.9% (unchanged from the prior year), followed closely by Trousdale, Sevier, and Rutherford counties. Perry County recorded the highest rate at 6%, up 1 percentage point from November 2024, with Pickett, Meigs, and Grundy counties next in line.

Note that no labor force estimates were available for October 2025 due to a federal appropriations lapse that prevented household survey data collection (though employer-reported establishment data for that month was still obtained once operations resumed). The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) continues to work on determining release timelines for December 2025 and January 2026 labor force estimates.

Overall, the data highlights Tennessee’s robust employment trends heading into the end of 2025.