Memphis unemployment was 4.9% in September, down from 5% a year earlier, federal figures show. But the city also had 3,665 fewer residents working.
The unemployment rate in Memphis was 4.9% in September, down from 5% in September 2025. About 13,719 city residents were out of work and looking for a job, against 14,468 a year earlier.
The figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Local Area Unemployment Statistics for the city of Memphis. The September numbers are preliminary and can be revised.
The rate is lower, but the city did not add workers. The number of Memphis residents with a job fell by 3,665 over the year.
How Memphis compares
| Area | September 2025 | September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| City of Memphis | 5% | 4.9% |
| Shelby County | 4.6% | 4.4% |
| Memphis metro area | 4.3% | 4.1% |
| United States | 4.3% | 4% |
| Tennessee | 3.5% | 3.3% |
The rates are not seasonally adjusted, so the fair comparison is with the same month a year earlier. The sources are the BLS series for Shelby County, the Memphis metro area, Tennessee and the United States.
Memphis had the highest rate of the five. Every area fell over the year, by between 0.1 and 0.3 of a percentage point.
The numbers behind the rate
The labor force is the residents who are working or looking for work. In Memphis it was 282,533 in September, down from 286,947 a year earlier. That is 4,414 fewer people.
Here is how the city’s figures moved from September 2025 to September 2026:
- residents with a job: 272,479 to 268,814, down 3,665
- residents out of work and looking: 14,468 to 13,719, down 749
- labor force: 286,947 to 282,533, down 4,414
So the rate fell mainly because fewer people were counted in the labor force, not because more residents found work. The bureau’s figures do not say why people left it. They can include people who retired, stopped looking or moved away.
Shelby County shows the same pattern. The county had 410,310 residents with a job in September, down from 415,904. Unemployed residents fell to 18,954 from 19,868, out of a labor force of 429,264.
The past year, month by month
The city’s rate was 4.8% in December 2025 and peaked at 5.7% in June 2026. It was 5.6% in July and August, then fell to 4.9% in September.
There is no figure for October 2025. The bureau did not produce one because of the 2025 lapse in federal appropriations.
What it means for you
Fewer Memphians are out of work than a year ago. But fewer are working, too, and the city’s rate is still above Shelby County, the metro area, the state and the nation.
If you are looking for work, Tennessee’s free job search and career center finder is Jobs4TN.
For more on the local economy, see our pages on home prices in Memphis, real estate transfers and Memphis by the numbers.
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