Individual County Unemployment Rates Up Statewide

June unemployment numbers for individual Tennessee counties are out, and all counties in the area saw an increase in their unemployment rates. In fact, all counties in the state saw their unemployment rates rise in June. How can that be when the state’s unemployment rate went down to 3.2%? According to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, summer impacts the unemployment rate, especially because of schools being on summer break. County unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted to take into account the effects of seasonal layoffs, while the statewide unemployment rate is seasonally adjusted. Seventy-seven counties in the state had an unemployment rate of less than 5% in June, that includes Cocke County which skirted just under 5% at 4.9%. That’s nearly a full percentage point increase from May’s rate which was 4%. Elsewhere around the area, Greene County’s unemployment rate was up over 1% to 4.8%. Hamblen County comes in at 4.1%. Jefferson County’s unemployment rate for June was 4%. Sevier County was tied for the second lowest unemployment rate in the state at just 2.9%. That’s up from 2.6% in May. Williamson County had the lowest rate at 2.8%. The highest unemployment rate was in Bledsoe County at 6.5%. The only county in the state to have an unemployment rate north of 6%.