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Unemployment Rates See Slight Changes in April

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NASHVILLE — The State Department of Labor recently released the unemployment numbers for April 2022, and small changes were reported in Carroll, Henry, and Weakley counties. Unemployment rates decreased in twelve Tennessee counties, including Henry County. Sixty counties, including Carroll and Weakley, experienced slight increases in their rates in April.

In Carroll County, 11,117 out of 11,529 persons in the labor force were employed in April, bringing Carroll County’s employment rate to 3.6%. The rate increased by .3% from March and fell by .9% from April 2021.

In Henry County, 3.2% of the labor force were unemployed in April, with 13,882 out of 14,345 residents employed. April’s rate is .2% lower than March’s rate and .6% lower than last year’s rate.

In Weakley County, 438 out of a labor force of 15,694 were unemployed in April, putting the unemployment rate at 2.8%. The rate is .2% higher than March’s unemployment rate and .6% lower than last year’s rate.

State-wide, Williamson County had the lowest unemployment rate in April with 2% of its population being unemployed. Chester County is the only West Tennessee County in the top ten list of lowest unemployment rates, with a 2.4% unemployment rate.

Five West Tennessee counties are included on the list of highest county unemployment rates in the state in April. Shelby County had an unemployment rate of 4.7%, Lake County had a rate of 4.6%, and Lauderdale County had a rate of 4.4% unemployment. Hardeman and Haywood County both had unemployment rates of 4.2% in the month of April.

Tennessee unemployment rates are at a historical low. Nearly every county in Tennessee had unemployment rates below 5% in April.

In Tennessee, unemployment fell by 1.6%, from 4.8% last year to 3.2% this year. With a labor force of 3,388,426, 109,601 Tennesseans identified as unemployed in April. Tennessee unemployment rates from April to March did not change.

Federal unemployment rates followed the same pattern. In April 2021, 6% of the nation’s population was unemployed. This year, unemployment fell by 2.4%, bringing April’s federal unemployment rate down to 3.6%.

To be unemployed, a person must be actively seeking employment but unable to find work.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) calculates county and statewide unemployment rates differently. It does not factor in seasonal impacts on data when determining county unemployment rates, while it does seasonally adjust the statewide unemployment number.