December 2008 County Unemployment Rates

NASHVILLE – Tennessee's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for December 2008 was released last week at 7.9 percent, 0.9 percentage point higher than the November rate of 7.0 percent. The United States unemployment rate for the month of December was 7.2 percent.

 

County non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for December 2008, released today, show that the rate increased in all 95 counties. All counties also recorded over-the-year unemployment rate increases.

 

Williamson County registered the state's lowest county unemployment rate at 5.0 percent,

up 0.5 percentage point from the November rate. Perry County had the state’s highest unemployment rate at 20.1 percent, up from 17.8 in November, followed by Lauderdale County at 15.3 percent, up from 13.9 percent in November.

 

Knox County had the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate at 5.7 percent, up 0.5 percentage point from the November rate. Davidson County was 6.0 percent, up 0.6 from the previous month. Hamilton County was at 6.5 percent, up 0.5 percentage point from the November rate, and Shelby County was 7.5 percent, up from the November rate of 6.9 percent.

 

NOTE: Information will be available on the Internet; enter http://www.tennessee.gov/labor-wfd/labor_figures/december2008county.pdf.    

 

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