County Unemployment at 3.3% for October

While still very low, Weakley County’s unemployment rate for the month of October rose a bit from 2.8 percent in September to 3.3 percent in October, according to estimates from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

For the year, local joblessness also increased slightly from 3.0 in October of 2021.

Of Weakley County’s labor force of 15,318, a total of 507 persons were reported as being unemployed during October of this year.

October unemployment rates in surrounding counties included 4.1 in Carroll County, 3.7 in Gibson County, 3.7 in Henry County, and 3.9 in Obion County.

Unemployment in a majority of Tennessee’s counties remained below 5% during October. Eighty-nine counties recorded rates below 5%, while the remaining six counties had rates at or over that threshold.
 
In October, every county in the state did experience a small uptick in their unemployment rates.
 
Williamson County had the lowest rate in the state for the month. At 2.4%, the county’s jobless number inched up by 0.3 of a percentage point.
 
Moore, Cheatham, and Wilson counties had the next lowest rates at 2.6%. Moore County’s rate experienced an uptick of 0.2 of a percentage point, while Cheatham and Wilson counties each saw their rates increase by 0.3 of a percentage point.

Bledsoe County recorded the state’s highest unemployment rate in October. At 5.4%, its rate grew by 0.6 of a percentage point.
 
Scott and Perry counties had the next highest rates for the month. Scott County’s rate went from 4.5% to 5.2% and Perry County’s rate increased from 4.7% to 5.2%.
 
Statewide, October’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained low at 3.5% and still near the record low of 3.2%.
 
Across the nation, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate grew by 0.2 of a percentage point in October to 3.7%. Compared to October 2021, the national rate is down 0.9 of a percentage point.