January 2011 County Unemployment Rates

Rates Increase in 95 Counties

Nashville, TN – Tennessee’s unemployment rate for January was 9.5 percent, up 0.1 from the December rate. The national unemployment rate for January 2011 was 9.0 percent, 0.4 percentage point lower than the December rate.

County non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for January 2011, released today, show that the rate increased in 95 counties.

The Unemployment rate for Paris (Henry County) was 13.3 percent, up 2.9 percent from the December rate of 11.6 percent. The rate was down 1.6 percent from the 14.9 percent in January 2010.

Williamson County registered the state’s lowest county unemployment rate at 6.7 percent, up from the December rate of 6.2 percent. Scott County had the state’s highest unemployment rate at 23.2 percent, up from 19.7 percent in the previous month, followed by Pickett County at 18.4 percent, up from the December rate of 15.4 percent.

Knox County had the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate of 7.5 percent, up from 6.8 percent in December. Hamilton County was 8.7 percent, up from 7.6 percent the previous month. Davidson County was 8.6 percent, up from 8.1 percent in December, and Shelby County was 10.4 percent, up from 9.4 percent in December.