Eighty-four of Tennessee’s 95 counties recorded unemployment rates below 5% in January, even as most counties saw increases from the previous month, according to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Unemployment rates rose in 90 counties from December to January. Rates decreased in three counties and remained unchanged in two.
Williamson County reported the state’s lowest unemployment rate at 2.7%, up slightly from December. Cheatham and Wilson counties followed at 2.8%, both also increasing by one-tenth of a percentage point.
Perry County had the highest unemployment rate in January at 11.3%, a sharp increase of 6 percentage points from the previous month. Cocke County recorded the second-highest rate at 6.4%, followed by Pickett County at 6%.
Statewide, Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.5% in January, down slightly from December and below the national rate of 4.3%.
Unlike the statewide figure, county-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted, meaning they do not account for typical seasonal changes in employment.
North Nashville lost a passionate advocate and historian with the passing of Lorenzo Washington. I had the pleasure to get to know him while working on a story and left with a wealth of information and appreciation for how Jefferson Street shaped the sound of Music City. Aaron Cantrell shows us how Lorenzo will forever be part of that.
- Carrie Sharp
