According to the latest employment numbers released this afternoon by the Tennessee Dept. of Labor & Workforce Development, the manufacturing industry continues to lose jobs at a pace of nearly 1,000 per week.

In the May-to-June reporting period, the statewide economy shed 3,900 manufacturing jobs. That brings the yearly total (June 2008 through June 2009) to 51,000 manufacturing jobs lost in Tennessee.

Manufacturing continues to be the hardest-hit sector of Tennessee’s economy (educational services lost a total of some 28,000 jobs in June, but that was primarily due to school ending for the summer).

Tennessee’s unemployment rate for the month of June was 10.8%, almost identical to May’s rate of 10.7%.