The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) reported last week that 91 of Tennessee’s 95 counties reported unemployment rates of less than 5% for November, with unemployment rates decreasing in 17 counties.
In November, Hawkins County had a workforce of 23,470, of whom 22,514 were employed for an unemployment rate of 4.1%. That’s up from 3.9% in October and up from 3.8% in November 2023.
November unemployment rates in Northeast Tennessee and adjacent counties included: Carter County 4.1%, Grainger County 3.8%, Hamblen County 3.5%, Hancock County 4.5%, Greene County 4.6%, Johnson County 3.8%, Sullivan County 3.7%, Washington County 3.5%, and Unicoi County 6%.
Moore and Williamson counties recorded the state’s lowest unemployment rates for November at 2.6%. Those counties also reported rates of 2.6% in October.
Sevier County had the state’s next-lowest unemployment rate for the month. At 2.7%, the rate was one-tenth of a percentage point higher than in October.
Unicoi County in Northeast Tennessee recorded the state’s highest unemployment rate for November at 6%. That was a two-tenths of a percentage point increase over its October rate of 5.8%
Bledsoe County followed with a rate of 5.4% for November. Bledsoe’s rate in October was 5.1%.
McNairy County reported the third-highest rate for the month at 5.3%, an uptick of one-tenth of a percentage point over its October rate.
The unemployment rate in Weakley County — which reported the highest rate in Tennessee in October — dropped 2 full percentage points in November to 3.9%.
Unemployment rates remained the same in 30 counties, while rates in 48 counties increased from October to November.
Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.5% in November. That rate was up two-tenths of a percentage point over the previous month but still seven-tenths of a percentage point below the national rate of 4.2%.
Unlike the statewide rate, county rates are not adjusted to account for seasonal impacts on employment.
Tennessee will release statewide unemployment data for December on Jan. 23.
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