NASHVILLE– The unemployment rate for each of Tennessee’s counties improved in February and the area unemployment picture improved drastically. None of our area counties are listed as counties with the highest unemployment. Obion County, in particular, made a huge improvement, from 8.9 percent unemployment in January to 4.3 percent in February.
The figures are according to new information released Thursday by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Eighty of Tennessee’s 95 counties have an unemployment rate less than 5 percent, a marked improvement from January’s jobless numbers.
In our area: Weakley County has the lowest unemployment with 3.5 percent, a drop from 5.1 percent in January. Other counties show Benton at 4.1 percent, down from 4.7 percent; Henry County at 4.2 percent, down from 4.5; Carroll County at 4.6, down from 5.5 percent; and Stewart County, 5 percent, down from 5.8.
Williamson County leads the state with the lowest unemployment in February. The county’s 2.2 percent rate is 0.2 of a percentage point lower than the previous month.
Both Davidson and Rutherford counties have the second lowest unemployment rates at 2.3 percent.
With a rate of 5.9 percent, Lake County has the state’s highest rate of unemployment for February. The latest statistic represents a decrease of 3.4 percentage points from the previous month’s rate.
Hancock County recorded the second highest unemployment rate at 5.8 percent, which is a 1.5 percentage point drop from its January rate.
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