Unemployment Rates Drop In Every County Across Tennessee

The unemployment rate for each of Tennessee’s counties improved in February according to new information released Thursday by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD).

Eighty of Tennessee’s 95 counties have an unemployment rate less than 5 percent, a marked improvement from January’s jobless numbers. 

“It is encouraging when unemployment rates drop in every county across the state,” said TDLWD Commissioner Jeff McCord.

Williamson County leads the state with the lowest unemployment in February. The county’s 2.2 percent rate is 0.2 of a percentage point lower than the previous month.

Both Davidson and Rutherford counties have the second lowest unemployment rates at 2.3 percent. That marks a 0.3 of a percentage point drop for Davidson County, while Rutherford County is down 0.4 percent of a percentage point when compared to January.

With a rate of 5.9 percent, Lake County has the state’s highest rate of unemployment for February. The latest statistic represents a decrease of 3.4 percentage points from the previous month’s rate.

Hancock County recorded the second highest unemployment rate at 5.8 percent, which is a 1.5 percentage point drop from its January rate.

“It is heartening to see unemployment rates in some of Tennessee’s rural counties rebound from last month,” McCord said. “We will continue to align our efforts with the state’s rural counties to support economic growth.”

Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment rate reached an all-time low of 3.2 percent in February. That figure bested the previous record low of 3.3 percent, which was the state’s unemployment rate between October and January.

Nationally, unemployment dropped to 3.8 percent, a 0.2 of a percentage point decrease from January’s revised rate of 4 percent.

A complete analysis of Tennessee’s county unemployment data for February 2019 can be found here.

Tennesseans searching for new or better employment opportunities can access more than 150,000 current job openings, as well as other job search tools on the state’s workforce development website, Jobs4TN.gov.

The state of Tennessee will release statewide unemployment data for March 2019, Thursday, April 18, 2019, at 1:30 p.m. CT.

Source: Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development