While Tennessee’s unemployment rate has steadily been dropping since the recession, Martin and Northwest Tennessee still have nearly double the unemployment as the rest of the Volunteer State.
According to a report by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Martin and Weakley County both reportedĀ an 8.3 percent unemployment rate for the month of July.
As a whole, Tennessee boasts a 5.7 percent rate which, as of July, is 0.4 percent higher than the national average of 5.3. Both numbers are 0.9 percent lowerĀ than they were in July 2014.
Meanwhile, every other county in Northwest Tennessee, with the exception of Henry County, experienced either no change or an increase in unemployment from June to July.
” Obviously, the higher the unemployment, the less opportunity there is for people in the community,” said Dr. Moser, professor of economics at UT Martin. “That’s one of the reasons counties like Weakley and Obion and these others that are largely agricultural are looking for industry.”
The report also revealed Obion County to hold the fourth highest unemployment rate in the state, at 9.6 percent. Hancock County recorded the worst rate in the state at 12.9 percent.
AtĀ the other endĀ of the spectrum, Williamson and Davidson Counties recorded the lowest unemployment rates in the state, at 4.6 percent at 4.9 percent respectively.
“Rural areas traditionally have relatively high unemployment rates,” Moser said. “There’s a lot of agricultural land, which is great, but it doesn’t take a whole lot of people to work agricultural land anymore. You need people to pick stuff if it’s a crop like strawberries or beans, but most of it is done mechanically now.”
Numbers for August are set to be released later this month.
For those looking for help with unemployment, you can visit: https://www.tn.gov/workforce. For information on jobs at UT Martin, go here: http://utm.edu/departments/personnel/employment.php.
UT Martin will also be hosting an Academic Major and Career Fair on Wednesday, Sept. 30 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Boling University Center Ballroom.
