Tennessee is seeing a decline in unemployment across most counties, according to the latest labor reports. Data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) indicates that in December, only four of the state’s ninety-five counties reported unemployment rates at or above 5 percent.
At the end of the year, 91 Tennessee counties reported unemployment rates below 5 percent. In December, 87 counties experienced declines in unemployment, six saw increases, and two remained unchanged. According to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Maury County had the highest unemployment rate for the month at 5.7 percent.
Williamson and Cheatham counties recorded the lowest unemployment rates at 2.6 percent, slightly lower than their November figures. Similar rates of 2.7 percent were reported in Sevier, Wilson, Rutherford, Dickson, Macon, Sumner, Knox, and Haywood counties.
Maury County recorded the highest unemployment rate at 5.7 percent, an increase from November. Lewis County reported the second-highest rate at 5.6 percent, also up from the previous month. In contrast, Perry County saw a decline, with its unemployment rate falling to 5.3 percent, down 0.6 percentage points from November.
Tennessee’s statewide unemployment rate was 3.6 percent in December. Unlike the statewide figure, county-level unemployment rates do not account for seasonal employment changes. The state’s workforce is supported by TNWorks, a program providing free workforce development services to assist employers in upskilling their employees.
