Lauderdale County unemployment top in state; Dyer County rate doubles from last year

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

A 19.7 percent unemployment rate for the month of August has moved Lauderdale County to the highest unemployment rate the state, according to the most recent U.S. and Tennessee Department of Labor reports.

Tennessee's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for August 2009 was released in mid-September at 10.8 percent, 0.1 percentage point higher than the July rate of 10.7 percent.

The United States' unemployment rate for the month of August was 9.7 percent.

County non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for August 2009, released Sept. 24, show Lincoln County registering the state's lowest county unemployment rate at 7.2 percent, up from 6.9 percent in July.

Lauderdale County had the state's highest unemployment rate at 19.7 percent, up from 19.5 in July, followed by Scott County at 19.2 percent, down from 19.5 percent in July.

Other West Tennessee counties in the top 10 highest rates in the state include Haywood County at number five with a rate of 18.3 percent, Henderson County at number six with a rate of 17.5 percent and Carroll County at number nine with a rate of 16.2 percent.

Statewide in August, unemployment rates increased in 47 counties, decreased in 42 counties and remained the same in six counties.

Dyer County's unemployment rate is 14.4 percent for August, dropping 1.2 percent from July's 15.6 percent and nearly doubling the August 2008 rate of 7.6.

Comments

Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. If you feel that a comment is offensive, please Login or Create an account first, and then you will be able to flag a comment as objectionable. Please also note that those who post comments on stategazette.com may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.

Bad news for those believing and voting for that hopey changey thing. Manufacturing jobs have left the country and likely won't be back. You can thank Slick Willie and the so called free trade agreement for this. The America we knew is probably gone. It was great while it lasted.

-- Posted by olcoot on Wed, Sep 30, 2009, at 2:07 PM

As a former resident of Lauderdale County, I strongly disagree w/ olcoot's comments. Like it or not the United States must be able to compete in a global economy. I left Lauderdale county in 1987 and now only go back to visit family. Some of the things that the elected leaders in West Tennessee must look at are the below average education system, moving away from an agricultural economic base, promote the advantages of locating in West Tennessee, and put more funding into the counties infrastructure. Everyone should come out of the mindset of blaming someone for the high unemployment rate. Bottom Line is that "It is Your Own Fault"!!

-- Posted by PoBob504 on Wed, Sep 30, 2009, at 11:44 PM

GREED ,LAWYERS ,AND POLITICIANS !EVERYONE TRYING TO STUFF THEIR OWN POCKETS .WE ARE BEING SOLD OUT IN AMERICA BECAUSE EVERY ONE HAS THEIR OWN AGENDA . NO COMMON GOALS ,MORALS OR BELIEFS .LAZINESS IN SCHOOLS ,WORK PLACES, COURT ROOMS ,AND THE CAPITOL.WE NEED A GOVERNMENT THAT WILL BRING BACK AMERICAN PRIDE TO THE COUNTRY ,NOT BECAUSE ONE PERSON COMPLAINS THAT IT IS NOT RIGHT TO SAY A PRAYER IN SCHOOL, OR MERRY CHRISTMAS WITHOUT OFFENDING THAT ONE PERSON .AN ILLEGAL IS ENTITLED TO HEALTH CARE OR SSI BENEFITS WITHOUT PAYING A DIME IN TO THE SYSTEM ,THAT AMERICANS WORKED MOST OF THEIR LIVES FOR BUT WILL PROBABLY NOT RECEIVE BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN OVERDRAWN .THIS IS WHY NO ONE TRIES ANYMORE WHY KILL YOURSELF WHEN GOVERNMENT IS GIVING IT AWAY TO PEOPLE THAT NEVER DID ANYTHING TO GAIN IT .

-- Posted by BIZCUITZNGRAVY on Thu, Oct 1, 2009, at 7:50 AM

That's 2,500 unemployed in Dyer County. Down from the July all-time record of 2,850.

Where we gonna get that many jobs?

-- Posted by Wayward on Thu, Oct 1, 2009, at 8:27 AM

The American Dream is gone. US taxes only cover the entitlements: SS, Medicare, and Medicaid: none of the rest of the budget. The dollar is devaluing every day. The rest of the world wants a one world currency. FDIC is broke and has no money to bail out the 95 banks already failed this year. 1500 more banks in line for failure. We are on the hook for $14 TRILLION in home mortgages, and 1.3 trillion in bad commercial real estate loans. Gold has tripled in the last 10 years, which means the dollar has devalued by a like amount. Buy gold and silver now! God help us.

-- Posted by wonk on Thu, Oct 1, 2009, at 10:03 AM

the state's figures are no where near correct. it only shows those who are still on the unemployment roles as being unemployed. that means those still drawing unemployment checks. there is probably 2 or 3 people unemployed, not receiving an unemployment check, for every one that is receiving a check. some of these are the never-employed, those that have moved in with mom & dad or some other family member or friend, and those who are habitual criminals. pobob504 comes closer to having his finger on the heartbeat of what is really happening than most.

-- Posted by jaydwain on Thu, Oct 1, 2009, at 7:49 PM

If you had put $100k into gold in 1932, it would be worth $4.4 million today. The same $100k, kept in cash, has been devalued to $2k. The Federal Reserve has been ripping us off for years.

I agree with jaydwain that the numbers, though awful, are in actuality higher. They only measure unemployment among workers. These figures do not measure unemployment among the "disabled" population, the criminal population, or the just plain lazy. There are very few people left working to support these categories.

-- Posted by wonk on Fri, Oct 2, 2009, at 5:59 AM

The real danger -- economically, socially or politically speaking -- in the 1930s was loads of young men without jobs. Today there is documented unemployment in people under 25 of 50%. Very dangerous. This is the beginning of the Greatest Depression. Currency crises run every 80 years in this country: Revolutionary War, War Between the States, the Depression, and now. We're in trouble.

-- Posted by wonk on Fri, Oct 2, 2009, at 6:28 AM