The jobless rate continued to decrease across the state as the pandemic seemingly subsides and more and more people go back to work. Labor force estimates, released last week by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, unemployment decreased through most of the state over the past month, and a massive improvement over the past year.
Tennessee’s statewide unemployment rate for April 2021 decreased by double digits when compared to data from the previous year. In April 2020, the state’s jobless rate reached a record high during the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted rate for April is five percent, down 0.1 of a percentage point from March’s revised rate of 5.1%.
In DeKalb County, the unemployment rate for April was 4.8 percent, down from 6.1 percent in March. This same time last year, the jobless rate locally was 23.5 percent. According to the data release, DeKalb’s labor force for April was 7,631, with 7,263 employed and 368 unemployed.
The department reported 87 counties saw lower unemployment rates in April when compared to the previous month. The rates remained the same in two counties, while six counties did experience higher unemployment.
Seventy of the state’s 95 counties now have rates less than 5%. Unemployment is 5% or greater in the remaining 25 counties.
At 2.8 percent, Williamson and Moore counties recorded the state’s lowest unemployment for the month. Williamson’s rate is down 0.5 of a percentage point from March and 7.9 percentage points from April 2020, during the height of business closures due to the pandemic. Moore County’s rate is down 0.9 of a percentage point from March and 9.8 percentage points from its rate one year ago.
Maury County had the highest unemployment in April, at 8 percent, a 3.3 percentage point increase from its rate in March. When compared to April 2020, Maury County’s rate is down a staggering 14.5 percentage points. Perry County’s rate is the second-highest but remained unchanged from March at 7.8 percent. One year ago, the county recorded a rate of 24.1 percent, which is a decrease of 16.3 percentage points when comparing the two years.
The counties with the highest unemployment rates are Maury (8%), Perry (7.8%), Shelby (7.3%), Lewis (7.2%), Marshall (6.8%), Lake (6.6%), Haywood (6.4%), Hardeman (6.4%), Houston (6.1%), and Lauderdale (6%).
Counties with the lowest unemployment rate are Williamson (2.8%), Moore (2.8%), Pickett (3.3%), Chester (3.4%), Cheatham (3.4%), Smith (3.4%), Knox (3.5%), Dickson (3.5%), Robertson (3.5%), and Johnson (3.5%).
While Tennessee has seen great improvement in unemployment over the last 12 months, many residents still need to find a path back into the workforce. The state stands ready to help them navigate the job market to gain meaningful employment.
Online or in-person resources are available to job seekers in every county. Jobs4TN.gov, TNVirtualAJC.com, ApprenticeshipTN.com, and more than 80 American Job Centers across the state can provide a starting point to a new job.
