Unemployment rates in a vast majority of Tennessee’s 95 counties continued to drop in June, according to new data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Seventy-four counties had lower jobless rates for the month, as Tennessee continues to reopen after many businesses closed in the spring to help curb the spread of COVID-19.
Unemployment did increase slightly in 17 counties during the month and remained the same in four counties.
Williamson County recorded the lowest unemployment rate in June. At 6.7%, the rate dropped 0.4 of a percentage point when compared to May’s rate.
Crockett County’s rate of 6.8% was Tennessee’s second-lowest figure for the month, down 0.3 of a percentage point from May. Pickett County had the third-lowest rate at 7.2%, down a 0.5 of a percentage point.
Shelby County had the state’s highest rate of unemployment in June. Its figure jumped 1.8 percentage points to 13.2%.
Grundy County was just below Shelby County at 13.1%, which represents a 3.8 percentage point drop from May’s rate of 16.9%.
Knoxville had the lowest unemployment rate among Tennessee’s three largest cities at 9.5%, which is a 0.3 of a percentage point decrease from the month before. Nashville had a rate of 12.1%, down 0.2 of a percentage point from May. Memphis saw a 2.4 percentage point increase in unemployment between May and June to 15.3%.
Tennessee’s statewide unemployment rate decreased for the second consecutive month. The June 2020 seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 9.7%, down 1.3 percentage points from May’s revised rate of 11%.
Nationally, seasonally adjusted unemployment dropped by 2.2 percentage points in June, going from 13.3% to 11.1%.
A complete analysis of the June 2020 Tennessee county unemployment data can be found here.
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