County unemployment rates for March 2016, released on Thursday, show the rates decreased in 92 counties, increased in one, and remained the same in two counties.
For the month of March, Davidson County had the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate at 3.1 percent, down from February’s rate of 3.3 percent. Knox County was 3.4 percent in March, down from 3.6 the previous month. The Hamilton County rate was 4.0 percent, down from 4.2 in February. Shelby County was 4.7 percent, down from 4.9 percent the previous month.
Tennessee’s preliminary unemployment rate for March was 4.5 percent, down four tenths of a percentage point from the previous month’s revised rate. The U.S. preliminary rate for March was 5.0 percent, up one tenth of a percentage point from the previous month.
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.