May 2016 County Unemployment Rates

NASHVILLE – County unemployment rates for May 2016, released today, show the rates decreased in 58 counties, increased in 11, and remained the same in 26 counties. Specific county information for May is available on the Internet:

Month of May, Davidson County had the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate at 2.9 percent, remaining the same from the previous month. Knox County was 3.2 percent in May, also the same as the previous month. The Hamilton County rate was 3.7 percent, down from 3.8 in April. Shelby County was 4.4 percent, down from 4.5 percent the previous month.

Tennessee’s preliminary unemployment rate for May was 4.1 percent, down two tenths of a percentage point from the previous month’s revised rate. The U.S. preliminary rate for May was 4.7 percent, down three tenths of a percentage point from April. 

The state and national unemployment rates are seasonally adjusted while the county unemployment rates are not. Seasonal adjustment is a statistical technique that eliminates the influences of weather, holidays, the opening and closing of schools, and other recurring seasonal events from economic time series.

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