by Jon Styf
Ninety-three of the 95 counties in Tennessee had unemployment rates rise in January.
The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development said the increase comes due to the end of some holiday employment.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate went up to 3.5% in January while the nationwide average remained at 3.7%.
The highest unemployment rate was 5.7% in Meigs, Perry and Cocke counties, followed by Lauderdale (5.6%), Houston (5.4%) and Bledsoe (5.4%) counties.
The lowest rate was 2.5% in Williamson County, followed by Moore, Robertson, Rutherford and Cheatham counties at 2.7% and Sumner, Wilson, Dickson, Davidson and Macon counties at 2.8%.
Unemployment decreased in Fayette County and remained the same in Hardeman County.
Tennessee employers added 9,900 net new nonfarm jobs month to month, with the largest increase in the professional and business services sector.
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Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter of The Center Square who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies.
