Smyrna has Lowest Unemployment Figures, Followed by Murfreesboro and LaVergne, TN

(Rutherford County, Tenn.) Nearly every county in Tennessee experienced lower unemployment in July, according to new data provided by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD). Eighty-nine out of the state’s 95 counties saw their jobless numbers decrease during the month.

Rutherford County, with a jobless rate of 3.1%, ranked at number 7 on the top 10 list of counties with the lowest unemployment in the state.

In Rutherford County, Smyrna once again had the lowest unemployment rate at 3%. Murfreesboro came in at 3.2 and LaVergne's jobless rate for July was at 3.3%.

Sumner County came in just above Rutherford County at number 6 on the list with an unemployment figure of 3%. Tying at numbers 3, 4 and 5 on the list were Moore, Wilson and Sevier Counties with an unemployment rate of 2.9%.

Williamson County had the state’s lowest rate in July at 2.6%. The latest figure is down 0.2 of a percentage point when compared to June’s rate. Cheatham County’s rate dropped from 3.2% to 2.8% to become the state’s second lowest rate for the month of July.

Across the state, 73 counties recorded an unemployment rate lower than 5% in July. The remaining 22 counties had a rate of 5% or greater but less than 10%.

HIGHEST UNEMPLOYMENT - Perry County recorded the highest unemployment rate in the state. Its July number of 6.3% still accounted for a 0.5 of a percentage point decrease from June’s rate. Bledsoe County had the second-highest number for the month at 6.1%, which was also a 0.5 percentage point drop from the previous month.

Statewide, July’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate came in at 3.3%. This is the third consecutive month the state’s jobless number has been 0.1 of a percentage away from the all-time low unemployment rate of 3.2%.

Nationally, seasonally adjusted unemployment dropped slightly between June and July, down 0.1 of a percentage point to 3.5%.

County unemployment rates are not adjusted to take into account seasonal impacts on employment, such as school breaks and weather events.

Nationwide, the unemployment rate is 3.5%. One year ago in July of 2021, the U.S. unemployment number was at 5.4%. Tennessee's unemployment rate for July was 3.3%, which is .9% lower than the unemployment figure from July of 2021.

EMPLOYMENT AVAILABLE - Tennesseans searching for employment can start at TNWorkReady.com. The site puts all of the Department’s job seeker services in one convenient location so they can find the in-person or online assistance they need.

TDLWD has prepared a complete analysis of the July 2022 unemployment data. That report is available here.

MORE WGNS NEWS Headlines:

Siegel at Smyrna on WGNS & Big G TV (pregame 6:30pm, kickoff 7pm)