Unemployment Drops in Every Tennessee County During August
Rates Rebound from the Impact of Seasonal Unemployment during Summer Months
NASHVILLE – Unemployment rates for each of Tennessee’s 95 counties dropped during August 2019 according to data released Thursday by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD).
Unemployment is now less than 5 percent in 89 of the state's counties. The August rates in six counties currently sit at 5 percent or greater.
"Many counties saw unemployment decrease by more than a percentage point in August, while several dropped by two percentage points," said TDLWD Commissioner Jeff McCord. "To see lower rates in every county across the state is always a positive sign coming out of the summer months."
Sevier and Williamson counties had Tennessee's lowest unemployment in August with a rate of 2.5 percent. Williamson County's rate dropped by 0.7 of a percentage point when compared to the previous month, while Sevier County decreased by 0.8 of a percentage point.
At 2.6 percent, Davidson and Cheatham counties had the next lowest rates in the state. When compared to July, Davidson County saw a decrease of 0.6 of a percentage point and Cheatham County experienced a 0.7 of a percentage point drop in unemployment.
Rutherford, Wilson, Sumner, Maury, Robertson, and Smith are the remaining counties that have the 10 lowest unemployment rates for August.
Clay County recorded the state's highest August unemployment rate at 6.1 percent, but that represents a 1.9 percent drop from July's rate. At 6 percent, Hancock County has the second-highest rate which is 2.1 percent lower than the previous month's statistic.
Statewide, seasonally adjusted unemployment across Tennessee held steady in August matching July's rate of 3.5 percent.
Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate also remained the same in August at 3.7 percent for the second consecutive month.
Job seekers can find more than 200,000 current openings from across the state on Tennessee's workforce development website www.Jobs4TN.gov.
The statewide unemployment rate for September will be available Thursday, Oct 17, 2019, at 1:30 p.m. CT.