Nashville, TN (2008-10-24) After a brief downturn in August, the unemployment rate in Scott County shot up again in September, climbing 1.6 percent. Tennessee's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for September 2008 was 7.2 percent, 0.6 percentage point higher than the August rate of 6.6 percent. The United States unemployment rate for the month of September was 6.1 percent.
According to the latest statistics from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Force Development, the non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Scott County in September was 12.4 percent, up 1.6 percentage points from the adjusted August rate of 10.8 percent. Scott County was among 84 counties in the state that saw an increase in joblessness. Of the remaining counties, seven experienced a decline in unemployment and four remained the same.
Of the 8,760 employable people in Scott County, 7,680 were employed. The remaining 1,080 were hunting for a job. September’s 12.4 percent unemployment rate was the fourth highest in the state. A year ago, the unemployment rate was 6.7 percent.
Scott County wasn’t alone, joblessness increased in all neighboring counties too. Anderson County reported a September unemployment rate of 6.1 percent, up 0.5 percent from August. Campbell County’s jobless rate for the month was 8.1 percent, up 0.4 percent. Fentress County’s unemployment rate edged up into double-digits with a September rate of 10.3 percent, an increase of 0.7 percent. Morgan County experienced the smallest increase locally, up just 0.2 percent from August to 7.5 percent in September. Pickett County, which recently had the highest rate in the state, reported a September jobless number of 10.9 percent, up 1.5 percent over the month.
Williamson County registered the state's lowest county unemployment rate at 5.0 percent, up 0.3-percentage point from the August rate. Perry County had the state’s highest at 16.8 percent; up from 16.2 in August, followed by Johnson County at 13.6 percent, up from 8.0 percent in August. Lauderdale County had the third highest rate in the state, 13.1 percent.
Knox County had the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate at 5.3 percent, up 0.3-percentage point from the September rate. Davidson County was 5.9 percent, up from 5.6 the previous month. Hamilton County was at 6.1 percent the same as the August rate, and Shelby County was 7.4 percent, up from the August rate of 7.1.