Tennessee Labor & Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips has announced Tennessee’s unemployment rate for both September and October is 8.4 percent, which is one tenth of one percentage point lower than the August revised rate. The national unemployment rate for October 2013 was 7.3 percent, up one tenth of one percentage point from September.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provides unemployment data to states each month including household and business surveys that contribute toward the monthly calculation. The BLS delayed release of state rate information due to the recent federal shutdown, but normal monthly rate announcements will resume in December.