Tennessee unemployment highest in 37 years in April
With unemployment rates at a 37-year high, many people are calling on food give-aways. Cars backed up for over a mile to pick up groceries during Memphis Athletic Ministries' drive-thru food distribution on March 27, 2020. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian file)
Tennessee’s 14.7% unemployment rate in April was the highest on record, the state said Thursday, May 21.
The jobless rate spiked from 3.3% in March as the economic shutdown from the COVID-19 pandemic deepened.
The previous high unemployment rate was 12.9% in December 1982 and January 1983.
The April unemployment numbers were released after the state said earlier Thursday total unemployment filings since March 15 totaled 532,580. National claims rose to 38 million over a nine-week period.
The state reported 6,081 new claims in southwest Tennessee, including Shelby County, in the week ending May 16, bringing the nine-week total to 86,080 in Shelby, Fayette, Tipton and Lauderdale counties.
Adding the Mississippi and Arkansas parts of the Memphis metro area, which the Tennessee numbers do not reflect, would likely raise the total since March 15 to more than 103,000.
The new unemployment claims have been tapering off week by week as parts of the economy reopen.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said Tennessee lost 376,900 nonfarm jobs between March and April, according to preliminary, seasonally adjusted data for April.
The largest decreases came in leisure/hospitality, manufacturing and professional/business services.
The state said nonfarm employment declined by 341,000 jobs over the 12 months ending in April.
The national unemployment rate also spiked to 14.7%, an increase of 10.3 percentage points from March.
Tennessee’s county-by-county numbers are due to be released May 28.
The Tennessee labor department said there are more than 150,000 current job openings listed on the state workforce development website. The website also has information about job retraining, interview and resume techniques and local job data.
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Unemployment rate joblessness unemployment claims Tennessee record unemploymentWayne Risher
Business news reporter, 43-year veteran of print journalism, 35-year resident of Memphis, University of Georgia alumnus and proud father and spouse of University of Memphis graduates.
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