33.3 F
Clarksville
Monday, March 18, 2024
HomeNewsTennessee Counties Sees Significant Decreases in Jobless Rates

Tennessee Counties Sees Significant Decreases in Jobless Rates

May 2017 Unemployment Remains on the Decline in All But One County

Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce DevelopmentNashville, TN – Following the lowest state unemployment rate in nearly 20 years, Tennessee’s county unemployment rates for May 2017 have decreased in 94 counties and remained the same in 1, according to data released today by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD).

Montgomery County had an unemployment rate of 3.2 percent in May. Which is down from April’s 4.1 percent.

Tennessee County Unemployment Rates Map for May 2017

Davidson County has the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate at 2.1 percent, a decline from 2.7 percent during the prior month.

Knox County’s rate is 2.5 percent, decreasing from April’s 3.1 percent.

Hamilton County declined from its previous month’s rate of 3.6 to 2.9 percent while Shelby County has an unemployment rate of 3.5 percent, a decrease from 4.4 percent in April.

Specific county information for the month of May is available online at www.tn.gov/assets/entities/labor/attachments/Labor_Force_Estimates%2C_May_17.pdf

“We continue to see a substantial drop in the unemployment rate of our metropolitan areas, which is great,” said TDLWD Commissioner Burns Phillips. “But the most encouraging numbers are coming from Tennessee’s distressed counties, many of which saw a significant drop in their unemployment rates.”

Tennessee County Unemployment Rate Range for May 2017

Rhea County’s 5.1 percent makes it the only area in the state with an unemployment rate above 5.0 percent in May. That figure represents a 1.5 percent drop from its revised April 2017 rate, one of the largest rate decreases for the month. The remaining 94 counties have unemployment rates of 4.8 percent or lower. Cannon County was the only area not experiencing any change.

“This shows that job growth in Tennessee isn’t exclusive to our major metropolitan areas; people are returning to the workforce in every corner of our state,” Commissioner Phillips said. “We continue to focus our resources on those Tennesseans who are still out of work, but the numbers show we are making progress.”

Preliminary unemployment rates have fallen for both Tennessee and the United States. Decreasing by seven-tenths of a percentage point, the state rate is 4.0 percent for May. The national rate fell a tenth of a percentage point to 4.3 percent for the 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, opening and closing of schools, and other recurring seasonal events from economic time series.

The Economic Analysis and Labor Force Estimates are prepared by the Employment Security division’s labor market information specialists. The division reports metrics and contextual information as it relates to employment, income, and population in Tennessee. Economical issues are narrated in monthly newsletters and additional resources are available on www.Jobs4TN.gov

RELATED ARTICLES

Latest Articles