Tennessee January jobless rate was 7.7 percent, a slight rise from December

Tennessee’s jobless rate for January was 7.7 percent, a tenth of a percentage point gain from the revised rate of 7.6 percent in December.

Tennessee Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development Karla Davis said it was the lowest rate for a January since 2008.

Tennessee’s latest rate was below the national unemployment rate of 7.9 percent.

A news release said the number of employed people in Tennessee — 2,891,100 — was the highest since December 2007.