Unemployment rates improved across a vast majority of Tennessee in August. Eighty-six of the state’s 95 counties experienced lower unemployment according to newly released data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD).
While most counties saw a drop in unemployment, rates remained the same in eight counties last month and increased in one; Lake County saw its August rate jump from 5.2 percent to 5.4 percent.
“It’s great to see unemployment rates decrease in so many counties across the state,” said TDLWD Commissioner Burns Phillips.
“Once again Tennessee successfully rebounded from the summer slump in unemployment we typically experience each year.”
Williamson County continued to have the state’s lowest unemployment rate at 2.8 percent, a 0.1 of a percentage point drop from the previous month’s rate. Davidson County’s statistic held steady at 3.0 percent and tied for the second lowest rate in the state. While Sevier County matched Davidson at 3.0 percent, its rate dropped 0.1 of a percentage point when compared to July.
The counties with the lowest unemployment in August each had a rate of 3.3 percent or lower.
With an August rate of 5.0 percent, Weakley County experienced the state’s largest drop in unemployment, down 2.6 percent from its July’s rate of 7.6 percent.
Lauderdale County recorded the state’s highest unemployment rate in August at 6.7 percent, but that figure is still 0.2 of a percentage point lower than the previous month. There are 21 counties in Tennessee with an unemployment rate of 5.0 percent or greater.
“We have several counties with higher unemployment and we are working to improve the jobless situation in those areas,” Burns said. “The recent realignment of Tennessee’s local workforce development areas will bring increased workforce development efforts to many of those counties.”
Tennessee had a seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment rate of 3.6 percent in August, which was a 0.1 of a percentage point increase from July’s statistic. Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.9 percent for the second consecutive month.
A complete analysis of each Tennessee County’s August unemployment statistics can be found
here.
Tennesseans searching for employment can find a wide range of valuable resources on the
state’s workforce development website.
The state of Tennessee will release the September 2018 statewide unemployment rate on Thursday, October 18, 2018, at 1:30 p.m. CT.