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- calendar_today November 2, 2026
The latest releases from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show complex trends in employment and business job dynamics across Tennessee's regions. Data from early 2026 reveals both regional differences in job creation and loss, as well as notable wage changes across the state’s largest and smaller counties.
According to the most recent County Employment and Wages report, employment declined in five of the six largest counties in Tennessee between March 2025 and March 2026. Overall, state employment dropped by 0.2% to 3,254,100 jobs in March 2026. Among the largest counties, Shelby County experienced the steepest year-over-year employment decrease at -2.1%, followed by Hamilton (-1.6%), Rutherford (-1.0%), Knox (-0.7%), and Davidson (-0.3%). Only Williamson County bucked this trend with a 1.2% employment increase in the same period. The largest share of employment remains concentrated in Davidson County, which had 543,800 jobs as of March 2026, and together, Tennessee's six largest counties comprised over half of all covered employment in the state.[BLS: County Employment and Wages in Tennessee]
Despite declining employment in most large counties, average weekly wages grew across the board, with Davidson County showing the largest increase at 6.6% over the year. Rutherford County also posted a significant wage jump at 5.7%. Davidson ($1,811) and Williamson ($1,887) counties reported average weekly wages above the national average of $1,654 for the first quarter of 2026. Statewide, average wages rose by 4.4% year-over-year, putting Tennessee in 25th nationally for weekly wage levels and 12th for wage growth.[BLS: County Employment and Wages in Tennessee]
For smaller Tennessee counties, wages largely lag behind national figures. Of 89 smaller counties, 88 had average weekly wages below the national average, with Roane County claiming the highest among them at $1,703, and Hancock County the lowest at $718.[BLS: County Employment and Wages in Tennessee]
Assessing business job gains and losses, Tennessee posted strong private-sector net employment gains in the final quarter of 2025. Gross job gains from new and expanding establishments were 176,311, while gross losses from closing and contracting establishments totaled 146,925, for a net job gain of 29,386 private-sector jobs.[BLS: Business Employment Dynamics in Tennessee]
This employment churn—openings, expansions, contractions, and closures—remains a vital backdrop. Gains in Tennessee’s private sector accounted for 6.2% of state private-sector employment last quarter, compared to a national average of 5.9%. On the loss side, gross job losses made up 5.2% of Tennessee's private-sector jobs, slightly below the national average of 5.5%. Gains and losses varied by industry; most notably, leisure and hospitality led net job increases (+9,795 over the quarter), while professional and business services, along with manufacturing, experienced net declines.[BLS: Business Employment Dynamics in Tennessee]
In summary, while Tennessee's overall employment ticked slightly downward with strong regional and sectoral differences, business job creation continues to offset losses in many cases—especially in industries tied to services and hospitality—in the latest available data.
