Unemployment rates declined in nearly half of Tennessee’s counties in August and remained the same in 20 counties, according to new data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Forty-seven of the state’s 95 counties saw a drop in their unemployment rates from July to August. Rates increased in 28 counties and stayed the same in 20 counties. All but three counties had rates below 5 percent.
Sevier County in East Tennessee recorded the state’s lowest unemployment rate for the month at 2.5 percent.
The rate was one-tenth of a percentage point higher than the county’s July rate of 2.4 percent.
Moore County had the next lowest rate for August at 2.6 percent, a decrease of three-tenths of a percentage point from July. Williamson County followed with a rate of 2.7 percent, a one-tenth of a percentage point increase.
Houston County had the state’s highest unemployment rate at 5.7 percent, a two-tenths of a percentage point increase over its July rate.
McNairy County reported the second-highest rate at 5.2 percent, which was unchanged over the previous month. Bledsoe County’s rate was 5 percent in August, a six-tenths of a percentage point drop from its rate of 5.6 percent in July.
Statewide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.1 percent in August, just a one-tenth of a percentage point increase after three consecutive months of record-low rates. The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in August.
Unlike the state and national rates, county unemployment rates are not adjusted to take into account seasonal impacts such as school breaks.
A breakdown of the August county unemployment data, including statistics for individual cities, is available here.
Tennessee will release the September statewide unemployment data on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 1:30 p.m. CDT.