NASHVILLE – Ninety-one of Tennessee’s 95 counties reported unemployment rates below 5% in September even as most counties saw an uptick in their rates over the previous month, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD).
Unemployment rates in 77 counties increased from August to September. Rates decreased in five counties and remained the same in 13 counties.
Sevier and Moore counties recorded the state’s lowest unemployment rates for the month at 2.7%. Sevier County’s rate was two-tenths of a percentage point higher than in August. Moore County’s rate was up one-tenth of a percentage point.
Williamson County had the third-lowest rate for September at 2.8%, one-tenth of a percentage point higher than the previous month.
The same three counties reported the lowest unemployment rates for the state in August as well.
McNairy County in southwestern Tennessee had the highest unemployment rate in the state last month. At 5.5%, the rate was three-tenths of a percentage point higher than in August.
Houston County had the next-highest unemployment rate for the month. Still, the county’s rate was 5.4%, a two-tenths of a percentage point drop over August’s rate.
Data released last week showed that Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.2% in September. While up slightly over the previous month, the state’s rate is still nearly 1 full percentage point below the national rate of 4.1%.
The state and national rates are adjusted to account for seasonal impacts on employment, while the county rates are not.
Tennesseans can stop their job search and start a new career by visiting one of the more than 70 American Job Centers across the state. That journey can start online at TNVirtualAJC.com, where job seekers can review available no-cost services or find a job center location near them.
An overview of county unemployment data, including labor force estimates for local areas across the state, is available here.
Tennessee will release the statewide unemployment data for October on Thursday, November 14, 2024, at 1:30 p.m. CST.
