Tennessee jobless rate falls to 7.3 percent

Unemployment tile

After four consecutive months of rising unemployment, Tennessee's jobless rate fell during September to 7.3 percent.

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said today that Tennessee added 7,200 jobs last month, helping to cut the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate by a tenth of a percent.

Nationwide, unemployment fell last month by two-tenths of a percent to 5.9 percent.

Over the past year, Tennessee's unemployment rate decreased from 8.2 percent to 7.3 percent while the national rate declined from 7.2 percent to 5.9 percent.

In the 12 months ending in September, Tennessee added 60,700 jobs, according to government figures. The largest increases occurred in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality industries, and trade and transportation businesses.