RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WGNS News) - Rutherford County’s unemployment rate increased in June, following a broader statewide pattern of higher month-to-month joblessness. However, the county and its municipalities continued to record rates below Tennessee’s overall non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate.
According to June 2026 labor-force estimates from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Rutherford County recorded an unemployment rate of 3.1%. The county had a civilian labor force of 215,363 people, including 208,597 employed residents and 6,766 classified as unemployed.
The county’s June rate was half a percentage point higher than the 2.6% recorded in May. Despite that monthly increase, unemployment remained lower than it was one year earlier. Rutherford County’s June 2025 unemployment rate was 3.3%, two-tenths of a percentage point above the current rate.
The monthly increase was not unique to Rutherford County. Unemployment rates rose in 94 of Tennessee’s 95 counties between May and June. Only one county recorded a decrease, while none remained unchanged. Even with those increases, 84 counties continued to report unemployment rates below 5%, while 11 counties had rates between 5% and 10%. No Tennessee county reached double-digit unemployment.
Murfreesboro, Smyrna and La Vergne also experienced month-to-month increases, although each municipality remained at or below 3.3%.
Murfreesboro had the highest unemployment rate among Rutherford County’s municipalities at 3.3%. The city’s labor force totaled 99,067 people, with 95,814 employed and 3,253 unemployed. Murfreesboro’s rate increased from 2.7% in May to 3.3% in June, a rise of six-tenths of a percentage point. Compared with June 2025, however, the rate declined slightly from 3.4% to 3.3%. Eagleville was not included in the numbers because their population is under 25,000 residents.
La Vergne’s unemployment rate stood at 3.1%, up from 2.5% in May. The city had a labor force of 23,343 people, including 22,629 employed residents and 714 unemployed residents. La Vergne’s rate remained three-tenths of a percentage point below its June 2025 rate of 3.4%.
Smyrna reported the lowest unemployment rate among the three municipalities at 3%. Its labor force included 34,224 people, with 33,194 employed and 1,030 unemployed. Smyrna’s unemployment rate increased from 2.5% in May but remained below the 3.2% rate recorded in June 2025.
Taken together, Murfreesboro, Smyrna and La Vergne accounted for more than 151,000 employed residents. Those figures are based on where workers live, rather than the number of jobs physically located inside each municipality, and workers may commute to jobs elsewhere in Middle Tennessee.
Despite the June increases, Rutherford County remained competitive within the Nashville metropolitan labor market. Its 3.1% rate matched Sumner, Williamson and Wilson counties. Rutherford’s rate was slightly lower than Davidson County’s 3.2% and considerably below Maury County’s 4.4%. Cheatham County posted a lower rate of 3%, while several other counties in the Nashville region ranged between 3.2% and 3.7%.
The Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metropolitan statistical area recorded a June unemployment rate of 3.2%, up from 2.7% in May but slightly below its June 2025 rate of 3.3%. The broader Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro combined statistical area posted a rate of 3.3%.
Among Tennessee cities with populations greater than 25,000, Smyrna’s 3% rate was among the lower rates reported. It matched Franklin and Spring Hill and was only slightly above Mount Juliet’s 2.9%. La Vergne’s 3.1% rate was lower than Nashville, Murfreesboro, Gallatin and several other cities. Murfreesboro recorded an unemployment rate of 3.3%, which was 0.1 percentage points better than the rate recorded in nearby Lebanon, where the jobless number was at 3.4%. On the other-side of the map in West Tennessee, Memphis reported an unemployment rate of 5.6%, while Jackson came in with a rate of 4.6%, Morristown . On the opposite end of the state in East Tennessee, Knoxville recorded an unemployment number that added up to 3.7%.
Rutherford County.....3.1%
Murfreesboro..........3.3%
Smyrna................3%
La Vergne......3.1%
At the state level, Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.5% in June, down from 3.6% in May and unchanged from June 2025. The state’s non-seasonally adjusted rate, which provides the appropriate comparison for county and municipal figures, rose from 3.2% in May to 3.8% in June. That rate was still below the 4% recorded in June 2025. The report notes that only the statewide and national figures are seasonally adjusted.
The local numbers indicate that Rutherford County continues to maintain a comparatively strong employment base. More people were counted in the county’s labor force in June than in May, but the number classified as employed declined, resulting in a larger pool of unemployed workers and a higher unemployment rate. Seasonal workforce changes, including school schedules, summer employment patterns and workers entering or reentering the labor market, can contribute to June increases.
Still, Rutherford County’s year-over-year improvement and its position below the statewide non-seasonally adjusted rate suggest that the county remains one of Tennessee’s more competitive labor markets. Smyrna and La Vergne continued to outperform many of the state’s larger cities, while Murfreesboro maintained a rate close to the Nashville metropolitan average and below several major Tennessee employment centers.
Top 20 Cities for Lowest Unemployment Rates in TN:
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s city-level estimates cover municipalities with populations greater than 25,000. The rates are not seasonally adjusted.
- Farragut — 2.9%
- Mount Juliet — 2.9%
- Franklin — 3.0%
- Smyrna — 3.0%
- Spring Hill — 3.0%
- Germantown — 3.1%
- Hendersonville — 3.1%
- La Vergne — 3.1%
- Gallatin — 3.2%
- Nashville — 3.2%
- Brentwood — 3.3%
- Maryville — 3.3%
- Murfreesboro — 3.3%
- Collierville — 3.4%
- Lebanon — 3.4%
- Shelbyville — 3.5%
- Johnson City — 3.6%
- Kingsport — 3.6%
- Oak Ridge — 3.6%
- Knoxville — 3.7%
Rutherford County placed all three of its largest municipalities among Tennessee’s 13 lowest city unemployment rates. Smyrna tied for the third-lowest rate at 3%, La Vergne tied at 3.1%, and Murfreesboro tied at 3.3%.
