Unemployment rates have decreased in all 95 TN counties

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Officials announced this week that unemployment rates decreased last month in all 95 counties and significantly dropped in many rural counties, which often have the highest unemployment rates in the state.

The county figures were released one week after the state posted an August statewide unemployment rate of 3.3 percent – the lowest in recorded history.

The unemployment rate in Montgomery County stands at 4.1 percent, down from 5.8 percent in August of 2016.

“To see a decrease in each and every county across Tennessee is quite an accomplishment and a sign of our state’s financial strength,” Haslam said. “Our historic low unemployment rate is a reflection of Tennessee’s policies – we’re a low tax state that encourages business investment and we don’t have a lot of debt, which allows businesses to thrive and create jobs.”

This is the third time in 2017 in which county unemployment rates decreased statewide. The rates also dropped in all 95 counties in February and April.

“What’s most impressive is how much the unemployment rate has dropped in our rural areas – several counties have seen a nearly three percent decrease over the last 12 months,” Phillips said.

The August unemployment rate is less than 5 percent in 81 Tennessee counties. Fourteen counties have unemployment rates for the month ranging from 5.1 and 6 percent.

The August statewide unemployment rate of 3.3 percent was down one-tenth of a percentage point from July while the preliminary U.S. unemployment rate increased last month one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.4 percent.

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, opening and closing of schools, and other recurring seasonal events from economic time series.

Additional information from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, including resources to help Tennesseans find jobs can be found at Jobs4TN.gov.