(NASHVILLE)  The May, 2020 unemployment figures are out, and they are down for Rutherford County. But when we’re accustomed to being in the best five, it’s difficult to swallow a 12.6 per cent unemployment rate. However, that is 4.1 per cent lower than April’s 16.7 figure.

How did Tennessee do?

The coveted “lowest unemployment” honor for May, 2020 went to Weakley County, with a new rate of 7 per cent. That's down 2.5 points from the previous month.  

Fentress County had the second-lowest figure with 7.1 per cent without jobs.

Number three went Williamson County. Prior to COVID-19, they had enjoyed years of achieving the lowest unemployment in the state. Williamson tallied 7.4 per cent of their population without jobs.

Most Without Employment

On the opposite end of the scale, Sevier County had the most residents without jobs for May, 2020. They had 18.5 per cent. They too had to feel good, because that was down 10.6 points from April’s jaw-dropping 29.1 per cent unemployment numbers.

Our “almost neighbors” in Warren County had the second highest number of unemployed residents in the Volunteer State with 17.6 per cent. They also showed a dramatic improvement with a 7.5 per cent improvement when compared to April.

Contiguous Neighbors

And FYI, here are the numbers for our contiguous neighbors to Rutherford County (12.6%):

• Bedford (13.9%)
• Cannon 12.2%
• Coffee (14.2%)
• Davidson (12.6%)
• Williamson (7.4%)
• Wilson (10%).

Look for the SILVER LINING

All 95 of Tennessee’s counties had lower unemployment rates in May, compared to the number of individuals who could not work in April when many businesses closed in order to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

Information Overload

A complete analysis of Tennessee’s May, 2020 county unemployment data is available here.