Scott County’s unemployment rate is no longer among the state’s 10 highest, after dropping three-tenths of a percentage point in July.
According to data released last week by the TN Dept. of Labor & Workforce Development, Scott County’s jobless rate dropped from 5.0 percent in June to 4.7 percent in July. Technically, that ties Scott County with Benton County for the state’s 10th-highest unemployment rate. However, Scott County was not listed among the state’s 10 highest counties by the Labor Department.
The July unemployment rate was based on an estimated local work force of 8,858, of which 8,444 were employed in July and 414 were unemployed. The number of employed Scott Countians actually declined from June to July, dropping from 8,472 to 8,444. But so did the estimated work force, dropping from 8,919 to 8,858.
Tennessee’s highest unemployment rate in July was found in Perry County, at 5.8 percent, followed by Hancock County, at 5.7 percent. Weakley County had an unemployment rate of 5.3 percent, while Pickett, Shelby, and Meigs counties each had an unemployment rate of 5.0 percent. Rounding out the 10 highest unemployment rates in July were Greene County at 4.9 percent, Hardeman County at 4.8 percent, and Benton County at 4.7 percent.
The state’s lowest unemployment rate in July was in Cheatham, Sevier, Williamson and Dickson counties, at 2.8 percent. They were followed by Wilson, Sumner, and Robertson counties, at 2.9 percent, and Rutherford, Blount, and Macon counties, at 3.0 percent.
Among neighboring counties, Anderson County had an unemployment rate of 3.4 percent, while Campbell County had a jobless rate of 3.8 percent, Fentress County was at 3.6 percent, and Morgan County’s unemployment rate was 4.2 percent.
Among the state’s major metropolitan areas, Nashville showed the way at 3.2 percent, followed by Knoxville at 3.5 percent, Chattanooga at 3.6 percent, and Memphis at 4.8 percent.
The unemployment rate declined in 93 of Tennessee’s 95 counties during the month of July. The statewide unemployment rate was 3.4 percent. The national unemployment rate was 4.1 percent.
