Hamilton County Unemployment Rate Rises to 3.5% in June

Hamilton County experienced a rise in unemployment last month, with the rate ticking up to 3.5% in June, a 0.8% increase over May. Despite this increase, the unemployment rate is still 0.4% lower than it was in the same month of the previous year, as per the latest statistics released by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Culprit: Seasonal Changes in Employment

Interestingly, the rise in unemployment can be attributed to seasonal variations in employment that occur every year, such as school breaks. As these livelihood numbers are not seasonally adjusted at the county level, seasonal movements, such as yearly holidays and short-term industry seasons, can cause noticeable changes in the data. This is a contrast to the statewide rates, which are adjusted for these seasonal variables and stayed at a record-breaking low rate of 3% for the second month in a row.

State-Wide Unemployment Trends

Despite the uptick in Hamilton County, the broader picture of unemployment in Tennessee is that rates have risen in all 95 counties during June. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rates have held steady at 3% for the second month in a row, holding ground at record lows, despite these increases at the county level.

A total of 82 counties reported unemployment rates below 5%, with the remaining 13 counties showing rates of 5% or more but still falling short of 10%. The county with the highest increase was Bledsoe County, with an unemployment rate of 5.8% – up by 1.4 percentage points compared to the previous month’s numbers.

Resources for Job Seekers

For those Tennesseans on the hunt for work, nearly 80 American Job Centers across the state offer assistance. These centers provide a myriad of programs designed to help job seekers and can be accessed conveniently at Tennessee’s Virtual American Job Center, available around the clock from any location. With such resources in place, the hope is to see these county-level unemployment rates decrease in the coming months.