State's jobless rate follows national number

Leisure- and service-sector gains help produce slight April drop

Email | Print By Geert De Lombaerde

Tennessee's unemployment rate ticked down in April, coming in at 5.4 percent, as gains in the leisure and professional services segment more than offset cuts in the manufacturing and retail arenas.

The slight move down – March's revised jobless rate was 5.5 percent – mirrored the national unemployment picture, which showed a 5.0 percent rate in April, down 0.1 percent from the month before.

Also contributing to April's improvement was the embattled construction sector, which saw seasonal gains of 1,600 jobs. (The sector also includes natural resources and mining companies.)

Tennessee's unemployment rate now stands 0.9 percentage points above year-ago levels. The factory sector is the chief culprit, having shed almost 11,000 jobs in the past year. Education and health services companies have added 8,700 positions in the last 12 months.