NASHVILLE – Newly released unemployment data from the Tennessee Department of Labor for May 2019 shows unemployment rates for nearly every county in the state are below 5 percent for the month. Ninety-one counties have unemployment rates lower than 5 percent and four counties have a rate of 5 percent or higher for May.
In our area, all counties are below five percent, with Weakley Co. showing the lowest at 3.5 percent and Carroll County the highest at 4.6 percent. Carroll County is back on the state’s top 10 counties with the highest unemployment, ranking 87th out of 95 counties.
All of the counties in our area show higher rates than the previous month. Weakley County’s 3.5 percent compares with 3 percent in April; with Henry County now at 3.6 percent compared to 3.4 percent in April; Benton at 3.9 percent compared to 3.5 percent in April; Stewart at 4.2 percent compared with 3.8 percent; Obion County at 4.4 percent compared with 3.7 percent and Carroll at 4.6 percent compared to 3.9 percent.
While Tennessee continued to experience low unemployment during the month, 90 of the state’s counties did see a slight uptick in their rates, one county remained the same, and unemployment dropped in four counties.
“It’s not unusual to see a minimal increase in local unemployment rates at the start of the summer season,” explained Commissioner Jeff McCord. “May is a month of transition; many high school and college graduates enter the workforce for the first time during the month and most school personnel start their summer break in May.”
At 2.2 percent, Williamson County currently has the state’s lowest unemployment rate.
While Clay County has Tennessee’s highest unemployment for the month, its new rate of 5.4 percent is still 0.2 of a percentage point lower than it was in April.
Tennessee’s statewide unemployment rate experienced a slight uptick in May. For three consecutive months, it remained at the all-time low of 3.2 percent but increased by 0.1 of a percentage point when compared to April’s rate.
Nationally, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.6 percent, mirroring April’s national rate.
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