The weather may be hot in Memphis, but the job market’s not.
Unemployment in the City of Memphis hit 12.1 percent in June, up from May’s rate of 10.9 percent and 11.1 percent in June 2010, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development reported today.
The Memphis jobless rate is the third-highest among the state’s cities with more than 25,000 people: Only Columbia, at 15.3 percent, and Morristown, at 14.5 percent, have higher jobless rates.
The bad news wasn’t confined to the city.
Unemployment shot up for Shelby County and the entire metropolitan area rose, as well.
At 11.1 percent, Shelby’s rate was the highest among the state’s major metropolitan counties and represented a more than a percentage-point increase from May’s rate of 10.0 percent. It was also higher than Shelby’s year-ago jobless rate of 10.2 percent.
Knox County (Knoxville) had the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate of 8.0 percent, up from 7.4 percent in May. Hamilton County (Chattanooga) was 9.2 percent, up from 8.2 percent the previous month. Davidson County (Nashville) was 9.1 percent, up from 8.5 percent in May.
Shelby was among 91 of the state’s 95 counties to record an increase in the rate from May to June. The four exceptions: DeKalb, Hawkins, Moore and Smith counties.
The jobless rate also climbed to 10.9 percent in June for the eight-county Memphis metropolitan area, up from the revised May rate of 10.1 percent and 10.0 percent in June 2010.
In addition to Shelby, the metro area includes Fayette and Tipton counties in Tennessee, Crittenden County in Arkansas, and DeSoto, Tunica, Marshall and Tate counties in Mississippi.
In a labor force of 629,820 last month, there were an estimated 68,700 people actively looking for work in the Memphis metro area.
More than half, about 55 percent, lived in the City of Memphis. The ranks of jobless do not include discouraged workers – those who’ve stopped looking – nor does it differentiate between those who are working full-time and part-time.
Tennessee’s unemployment rate in June was 9.8 percent, up from 9.7 percent in May and 9.6 percent in June 2010.
The state’s rate has remained higher than the nation’s, which was 9.2 percent in June, 9.1 percent in May, and 9.5 percent in June 2010.
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