NASHVILLE - Tennessee's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January 2005 of 5.9 percent, up from the December 2004 revised rate of 5.3 percent, was released on March 3, 2005. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has revised the unemployment rate estimating methodology including the introduction of the Office of Management and Budget's new 2000 geographic standards to 2000 Census data.

 

  Metropolitan Statistical Areas have been redefined. These areas have a central county or counties with an urbanized area of at least 50,000 people plus adjacent outlying counties that meet commuting standards. The addition of three new metro areas has boosted Tennessee's total to ten.

 

New Micropolitan Statistical Areas have a central county or counties with an urban cluster of 10,000 to 49,000 people. Combined Statistical Areas, comprised of two or more metro or micro areas, also have been added.

 

Williamson County registered the state's lowest county unemployment rate at 3.9 percent, up from 3.1 in December. Hancock County was the state's highest at 14.0 percent, up from 10.6 in December.

 

Knox County had the state's lowest major metropolitan rate at 4.8, up from 3.8 in December. Davidson County was 5.0, up from 4.1 in December. Hamilton County was at 5.4 percent, up from 4.4 in December, and Shelby County was 7.3 percent, up from 6.3 in December.

 

To learn more about the revised rate estimating methodology and the statistical areas, go to the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development Web site at www.tennessee.gov/labor-wfd and click on the NEW UNEMPLOYMENT RATE METHODOLGY UPDATE icon. For complete labor force estimates, go to http://www.state.tn.us/labor-wfd/labor_figures/Lfep.pdf.