Tennessee’s statewide unemployment rate for April 2021 decreased by double digits when compared to data from the previous year. In April 2020, the state’s jobless rate reached a record high during the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to data released from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Tennessee’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted rate for April is 5%. That’s down 0.1 of a percentage point from March’s revised rate of 5.1%.

Unemployment reached an all-time high in April 2020, at the height of business closures due to the pandemic. The revised rate of 15.8% is 10.8 percentage points higher than where it stands one year later.

Employers across Tennessee added 9,800 jobs between March and April of 2021. The retail trade sector accounted for the largest number of new jobs, while the accommodation/food services and professional/scientific/technical services sectors had the second-and-third-largest gains for the month.

Between April 2020 and April 2021, Tennessee’s economy made a remarkable rebound with the addition of 287,400 jobs. The state’s leisure/hospitality industry put the most people back to work over the last 12 months, followed by the trade/transportation/utilities and manufacturing sectors.

Nationally, seasonally adjusted unemployment increased slightly to 6.1%, up 0.1 of a percentage point from March’s revised rate of 6%. In a year-to-year comparison, the United States rate is down 8.7% from where it was in April 2020.

You can find a complete analysis of Tennessee’s unemployment data for April 2021 here.

Tennessee employers currently have more than 250,000 job openings across the state. Job seekers can start their pathway to employment on the state’s workforce development website, www.Jobs4TN.gov.

The virtual American Job Center can help job seekers explore programs that may help them remove barriers to reentering the workforce. The online tool is accessible anytime, anywhere at www.TNVirtualAJC.com.