Newly released unemployment data shows the jobless rate dropped in two-thirds of Tennessee’s 95 counties during March 2020. The unemployment data for the month does not take into account the impact of the COVID-19 health emergency.
The federal government conducted its survey to measure the number of Tennesseans who were out of work during the second week of the month, between March 8 and 14.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development did not begin to see the unprecedented increase in unemployment claims until the third and fourth weeks of March.
Unemployment rates decreased in 61 counties during March, increased in 18 counties, and remained the same in 16 counties.
Sixty-eight counties had unemployment rates lower than 5% for the month, while 27 counties had rates that were 5% or higher.
Williamson County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate in March. At 2.6%, the new rate mirrored February’s rate.
Cannon County’s rate in March was 3.3% percent, a slight increase over the February rate of 3.1%. In our surrounding counties, DeKalb is the highest with 4.6% and Rutherford is the lowest with 2.7%.