Tennessee’s unemployment rate for June of 3.6 percent was the lowest in the state’s recorded history.
Gov. Bill Haslam and Burns Phillips, commissioner for the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, shared the news last week.
The previous low was 3.7 percent in March 2000. The state has not had an unemployment rate below 4 percent since it was 3.9 percent in February 2001.
“Today more than ever, businesses have a choice of where to grow or expand, and because of the policies this administration has put in place working with the General Assembly, we’re seeing the job growth that comes when businesses choose Tennessee,” Haslam said in a news release.
Phillips credited Haslam for making high quality jobs a priority, noting that seven years ago more than 10 percent of Tennesseans were out of work.
The national unemployment rate for June was 4.4 percent, a slight increase from 4.3 percent in May. The national rate has seen 10-year lows in recent months. The unemployment rate has been dropping steadily over the past few years after rising sharply during the recession.
