January unemployment rate for Tennessee drops to lowest level since pandemic began

Tennessee's unemployment rate for the month of January was reported by the Tennessee Department of Labor on Thursday to have dropped to 5.1 percent, down half a percentage point from December's rate of 5.6 percent.

The latest monthly unemployment rate represents the single lowest rate Tennessee has since since pre-pandemic levels of unemployment, with January of 2020 having a 3.7 percent unemployment rate before exploding to 15.5 percent in April.

Since April, 2020, the monthly unemployment rate has steadily dropped save for a spike in October and December, and continues to appear to be on a trajectory for recovery.

Between December and January, non-farm employment dropped in the state by 2,100, with the largest employment decreases occurring in the leisure and hospitality sector, industries that continue to be ravaged by the ongoing pandemic. When compared to January, 2020, there are approximately 122,800 less non-farm jobs in the state.

Tennessee appears to be fairing better than the United States as a whole, with the U.S. unemployment rate for January reported as being 6.3 percent, an improvement over December's rate of 6.7 percent.