Clay County unemployment down almost a full point in August

NASHVILLE-Clay County’s unemployment rate dropped by almost a full point in August, according to statistics released here by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. 

The county’s labor force rose above 3,000 for the first time in recent memory, the report showed, and the number of people employed also rose to the highest number in several years. 

Clay County’s August jobless rate was 4.4 percent, down .09 from the revised July 2024 rate, the report said, and the county also dropped out of the ranking for the 10 highest rates in the state. 

The labor force edged up to 3,002 and the number of people working jumped by 115 to 2,871. Both those numbers are the highest since at least late 2020, said Clay County Workforce Development chairman Kevin Donaldson. 

“Our labor force and the number of people working are at the highest levels since at least September of 2020,” Donaldson said. “Of course, that was the first year of the pandemic, when the economy and employment both took significants downturns.” 

Since September of that year, the number of people in the labor force has dipped as low as 2,662 (July 2021), and the number of people working fell as low as 2,448 (June 2021). 

“The August 2024 numbers are a few hundred higher in each of those categories, which is significant,” Donaldson said. 

The workforce committee works closely with the Clay County Chamber of Commerce in trying to improve all aspects of workforce development, and in trying to raise the county’s labor force participation rate, which has been among the state’s lowest in recent years. 

“These numbers show that we’re making progress, and also that there’s a lot of work still to be done,” said chamber director Doug Young. “We work with all of our regional partners, and with state officials on a regular basis to have the best possible workforce, and we’re encouraged by August’s jobless statistics, especially the number of people in the workforce.

“We invite anyone who wants to help us in this effort to come to the workforce meetings, held the second Thursday of each month at the chamber,” Young said.