Unicoi County’s jobless rate continues to fall

Unicoi County’s jobless rate continues to decline, providing another sign of an improving local economy.
In figures just released by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Unicoi County’s unemployment rate fell .4 percent from a July rate of 9.5 percent to 9.1 percent in August.
The August figures, the latest available from the state, come as the jobless rate for Unicoi County has steadily fallen in recent months.
One year ago, Unicoi County’s jobless rate was 11.5 percent. Only Washington County, with 8.4 percent, and Sullivan County, with 7.9 percent, had lower unemployment rates than Unicoi County.
Unicoi County’s rate was even below the state average.
Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for August was 9.6 percent, down one-tenth of a percentage point from the revised July rate of 9.7 percent. The national unemployment rate for August 2010 was 9.6 percent.
County non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for August 2010, released today, show that the rate decreased in 46 counties, increased in 33 counties and remained the same in 16 counties.
Lincoln County registered the state’s lowest county unemployment rate at 6.4 percent, unchanged from the previous month. Scott County had the state’s highest unemployment rate at 19.8 percent, up from 19.4 percent in July, followed by Marshall County at 16.0 percent, up from July’s rate of 15.7 percent.
Knox County had the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate of 7.6 percent, up from 7.5 percent in July. Davidson County was 9.5 percent, up from 9.3 percent. Hamilton County was 8.7 percent, up from 8.4 in July, and Shelby County was 9.9 percent, unchanged from the previous month.