March Unemployment Rate 7.9 Percent
Thursday, April 19, 2012 | 08:30am
State Unemployment Rate Drops for Eighth Consecutive Month
NASHVILLE – Tennessee Commissioner of Labor & Workforce Development Karla Davis announced today Tennessee’s unemployment rate for March fell to 7.9 percent, down from the February revised rate of 8.0 percent. The national unemployment rate for March 2012 was 8.2 percent, 0.1% percentage point lower than the February rate.
"Tennessee’s unemployment is the lowest since November 2008,” Commissioner Davis said. “The decline is attributed to losses in both employment and unemployment, but the number of unemployed declined at a faster rate, resulting in the net decrease in the state rate.”
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Seasonally Adjusted Labor Force Estimates - Household Survey
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|||||
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Mar 2011
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Revised
Feb 2012
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Preliminary
March 2012
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Change from March 2011 to March 2012
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Change from Feb. 2012
to March 2012
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Civilian Labor Force
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3,134,300
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3,123,400
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3,109,400
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(24,900) -0.8%
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(14,000) -0.4%
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Employment
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2,838,800
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2,872,600
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2,865,000
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26,200 0.9%
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(7,600) -0.3%
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Unemployment
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295,500
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250,800
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244,500
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(51,000) -17.3%
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(6,300) -2.5%
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Unemployment Rate
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9.4%
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8.0%
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7.9%
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-1.5 percentage points
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-0.1 percentage point
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Tennessee’s state unemployment rate is derived from the following three sources of information: the Business Survey, the Household Survey, and unemployment claim information. Tennessee’s Household Survey is conducted by the Census Bureau and also contributes toward the national unemployment rate.
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Seasonally Adjusted Nonfarm Employment – Business Survey
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(Numbers in thousands)
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Mar 2011
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Revised
Feb 2012
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Preliminary
March 2012
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Change from March 2011 to March 2012
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Change from Feb. 2012 to March 2012
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Total Nonfarm
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2,647.3
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2,693.0
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2,691.3
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44.0
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-1.7
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Mining/logging/construction
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106.8
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115.2
|
114.9
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8.1
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-0.3
|
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Manufacturing
|
303.2
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307.9
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309.3
|
6.1
|
1.4
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Trade/transportation/utilities
|
559.6
|
558.1
|
557.1
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-2.5
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-1.0
|
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Information
|
44.2
|
44.7
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44.2
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0.0
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-0.5
|
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Financial activities
|
135.3
|
135.7
|
135.7
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0.4
|
0.0
|
|
Professional/business services
|
317.8
|
332.5
|
328.5
|
10.7
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-4.0
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Education/health services
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382.2
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389.2
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388.4
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6.2
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-0.8
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Leisure/hospitality
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265.3
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267.7
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270.0
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4.7
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2.3
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Other services
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101.6
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101.6
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101.8
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0.2
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0.2
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Government
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431.3
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440.4
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441.4
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10.1
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1.0
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