NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee officials say the state's preliminary unemployment rate for August climbed slightly from the previous month.

Tennessee Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips said in a news release Thursday that August's preliminary rate was 4.4 percent, up one-tenth of a percentage point from July's revised rate of 4.3 percent.

The U.S. preliminary rate for August was 4.9 percent, the same as July.

During the past year, Tennessee's unemployment rate has decreased from 5.6 percent to 4.4 percent, while the national rate fell from 5.1 percent to 4.9 percent.