Warren County’s unemployment continues to rise

With Carrier layoffs continuing to accumulate, Warren County’s unemployment rate soared to 8.0 percent last month. The county’s unemployment has risen, or stayed the same, every month this year.

Warren County’s 8 percent unemployment is almost double what it was at this time last year when the county experienced 4.4 percent unemployment.

The figures, provided by the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development, are for June. July’s figures should be released in the upcoming week.

The numbers for June show Warren County’s unemployment is up from 7.5 percent in May to 8 percent. Statistics for surrounding counties are: Cannon 5.9 percent, Coffee 6.1 percent, DeKalb 6.7 percent, Grundy 8.3 percent, Van Buren 9.7 percent, and White 11.5 percent.

Metro areas are faring somewhat better with Knox County experiencing 4.8 percent unemployment and Davidson County showing 5.3 percent. Williamson County has the state’s lowest unemployment rate at 4.2 percent. Wayne County is showing the highest at 13.5 percent.