Newly released data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development highlighted an improving economy with lower unemployment in nearly every county across the state in August.
Unemployment rates decreased in 94 of Tennessee’s 95 counties during the month. Benton was the only county with a slight increase of 0.1 of a percentage point in its month-to-month comparison.
Unemployment numbers reveal significant improvement in Coffee County. For August, the unemployment rate in Coffee County was 7.1 percent. This shows a 1.8 percent improvement from the July numbers in 2020. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of 7.1 percent is significantly higher than one year ago, when the rate was 3.4%.
Moore County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate in August. At 5.1%, unemployment in the county dropped by 1.3 percentage points when compared to the previous month’s revised rate of 6.4%.
Pickett and Williamson counties had the next lowest rates in the state. Pickett County’s rate went down 1.1 percentage points to 5.2%. Williamson County’s revised July rate of 6.5% dropped to 5.3% in August.
Shelby County experienced the state’s highest unemployment in August. The county’s new rate of 13.4% is down 1.4 percentage points from its revised July rate.
At 11.4%, Haywood County had the second-highest unemployment rate for the month. That represents a 1.6 percentage point decrease from the previous month. Davidson County recorded the third-highest unemployment rate in August. Its new rate is 10.4%, down 1.9 percentage points from the county’s July statistic.
Each of the state’s largest cities experienced lower unemployment in August. Memphis dropped 1.4 percentage points from its revised July rate of 17.4%. Nashville’s rate is now 10.4%, down 1.9 percentage points. Knoxville’s August rate of 8.1% is 1.5 percentage points lower than its July rate.
A complete analysis of Tennessee’s August 2020 county unemployment data is available here
The statewide seasonally adjusted jobless rate in August dropped to 8.5%, down 1.2 percentage points from July’s revised rate of 9.7%.
Nationally, seasonally adjusted unemployment also decreased in August. At 8.4%, the United States unemployment rate fell 1.8 percentage points from the revised July rate of 10.2%
Enter to win this awesome bag – $150 value! Prize provided by Charlie Gonzales, realtor with Weichert Realtors, Joe Orr & Associates
