Every Tennessee county recorded an unemployment rate of 5% or less in May, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced today.
Unemployment in Hamilton County rose from 2.7% in April to 3.1% in May, with less than 6,200 people looking for work out of a labor force of over 200,000.
Ninety-four of the state’s 95 counties had unemployment rates below 5%, and one county, Hardeman County in southwestern Tennessee, had a rate of 5%. Unemployment rates decreased from April to May in three counties. Rates increased in 92 counties.
Williamson County reported the lowest unemployment rate in May at 2.6%, up four-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month. Four counties — Sevier, Rutherford, Cheatham, and Wilson — followed with rates of 2.7%.
Hardeman County’s unemployment rate of 5% was the highest in Tennessee last month. That rate was up five-tenths of a percentage point over April’s rate.
Johnson County recorded the second-highest unemployment rate for the month at 4.9%, a three-tenths of a percentage point decline from the previous month. Perry County followed with a rate of 4.8%, up eight-tenths of a percentage point from April.
Tennessee’s statewide unemployment rate in May was 3.5%. Unlike the statewide rate, county rates are not adjusted to account for seasonal impacts on employment.
A breakdown of the May 2025 county unemployment data is available here.
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