The majority of Tennessee counties recorded unemployment rates below 5 percent in May, according to data the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) released late last week.
This, according to a TDLWD press release.
“[Exactly] 40 counties experienced a drop in unemployment during May, while rates remained the same in 18 counties. Thirty-seven counties did see some increase in unemployment for the month. At 2.7 percent, Moore and Williamson counties continued to have the lowest unemployment in the state. Moore County’s rate dropped 0.2 of a percentage point from its revised April rate and it saw a 5.8 percentage point decrease from its May 2020 rate. Williamson County’s jobless number went down 0.3 of a percentage point when compared to April and it was 3.7 percentage points lower than its May 2020 number,” the press release said.
“Perry County had the highest unemployment in May. Its new rate of 7.1 percent is 1.3 percentage points lower than the previous month’s rate and a staggering 8.3 percentage points lower than its May 2020 rate. Shelby County had the second-highest unemployment for the month. Its new statistic of 6.8 percent is 0.1 of a percentage point lower than April’s rate and a 3.5 percentage point drop when compared to May 2020. Statewide unemployment held steady in May and remained unchanged from April’s seasonally adjusted rate of 5 percent.”
In April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported a record number of job openings. Jobs4TN.gov continues to have more than 250,000 available jobs posted, along with other job search resources that can help someone making the transition back into the workforce, the press release said.
The state of Tennessee will release the June 2021 statewide unemployment data at 1:30 p.m. Central on Thursday, July 15.
A little more than a year ago, Tennessee officials announced the state’s unemployment rate was at its highest-ever, because of COVID-19. At the time, residents in Northern Middle Tennessee and East Tennessee likely filed high numbers of unemployment claims because of their respective hospitality industries.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
“…likely filed high numbers of unemployment claims because of their respective hospitality industries.”
….being shut down by Governor Lee’s executive orders.
We have been told for years that 5% unemployment was essentially “fully employed”. These numbers are a dead cat bounce.
The SAME job is listed 4-5 times on the TU website. Job listings as I’ve said all along are not accurate on this website.