Pickett County jobless at 17.4% for December
Tennessee’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for December was 10.9 percent, up 0.7 percentage point from the revised November rate of 10.2 percent. The United States’ unemployment rate for the month of December was unchanged at 10.0 percent.
County non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for December 2009, released today, show that the rate increased in 91 counties, decreased in one, and remained the same in three counties.
Lincoln County registered the state's lowest county unemployment rate at 7.1 percent, up 0.4 from its November rate. Lauderdale and Marshall counties had the state’s highest unemployment rate at 18.9 percent. Lauderdale was up 0.4 from the November rate, and Marshall County increased from 16.8 percent in November.
Knox County had the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate of 8.1 percent, up 0.4 percentage point from the November rate. Hamilton County was at 8.9 percent, up 0.5 percentage point from the November rate. Davidson County was 9.2 percent, up 0.4 from the previous month, and Shelby County was 10.3 percent, up 0.3 from the November rate.
Pickett County recorded a 17.4% unemployment rate for December, up 2.0 percentage points from November’s rate of 15.4%. Surrounding counties reported the following jobless rates for December: Clay County 14.1% (up from 13.8%); Fentress County 13.9% (up from 12.7%); Overton County 12.2% (up from 11.5%); Putnam County 10.1% (up from 9.4%).