RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WGNS News) – Rutherford County continues to rank among Tennessee’s counties with the lowest unemployment rates, according to September 2026 figures released Thursday by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD). The county’s jobless rate improved from 3.1% in August to 2.7% in September, representing a four-tenths-of-a-percentage-point decrease. Rutherford was one of eight counties statewide to share the lowest unemployment rate for the month.
The latest figures also brought encouraging news for Rutherford County’s three largest cities, with Murfreesboro, Smyrna and La Vergne all reporting lower unemployment than the previous month. Murfreesboro and La Vergne experienced the most noticeable improvements, each recording a four-tenths-of-a-percentage-point reduction. Murfreesboro’s rate moved from 3.2% in August to 2.8% in September, while La Vergne went from 3.1% to 2.7%. Smyrna matched La Vergne’s September rate of 2.7%, leaving Murfreesboro just one-tenth of a percentage point higher than its neighboring cities.
The year-over-year comparison was equally positive for Rutherford County’s largest municipalities. In September 2025, Smyrna and La Vergne each reported unemployment rates of 2.9%, while Murfreesboro stood at 3.1%. One year later, all three cities posted better numbers, with Murfreesboro improving by three-tenths of a percentage point and Smyrna and La Vergne each showing a two-tenths-of-a-percentage-point improvement. Rutherford County as a whole also fared better than a year earlier, when its September 2025 rate stood at 3.0%…