Statewide unemployment in Tennessee dropped to its lowest rate in history. Data from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) showed the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 3.2%, the lowest level ever recorded.

The decrease of 0.2 of a percentage point in March allowed the month to eclipse the previous all-time low rate of 3.3%, recorded in August 2019. The latest rate is 1.7 percentage points lower than it was this time last year.

Tennessee reached this historic low just 23 months after it marked its all-time highest unemployment rate of 15.9% in April 2020, during the height of pandemic-related business closures across the state.

Also, setting high marks in March were Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted civilian workforce at 3,370,618 and the number of Tennesseans employed, which came in at 3,261,531.

Nationally, unemployment also dropped in March. The seasonally adjusted rate for the United States decreased by 0.2 of a percentage point to 3.6%. The rate is down 2.4 percentage points in a year-over-year comparison.