May 2008 Unemployment Figures - County

NASHVILLE – Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May 2008 was released last week at 6.4 percent, 1.0 percentage point higher than the April revised rate of 5.4 percent.  The United States unemployment rate for the month of May was 5.5 percent.

County non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for May 2008, released today, show that 94 counties increased.  Trousdale County had the only decrease in unemployment, down 0.1 percentage point from 7.7 percent to 7.6 percent. 

Williamson County registered the state’s lowest county unemployment rate at 4.2 percent, up 0.8 from the April rate of 3.4 percent.  Perry County had the state’s highest at 13.1 percent, up 0.8 from the April rate of 12.3 percent, followed by Lauderdale County at 10.8 percent, up from 9.2 percent in April.

Knox County had the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate at 4.6 percent, up 0.8 from the April rate of 3.8 percent.  Davidson County was 5.0 percent, up from 4.1 in April.  Hamilton County was at 5.0 percent, up 0.7 from the April rate of 4.3 percent, and Shelby County was 6.3 percent, up from the April rate of 5.5