WASHINGTON: Rhea County’s unemployment rate for December was the second highest unemployment rate in the state, according to information released by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development on Thursday. Rhea County’s unemplyoment rate for December 2016 was 9 percent, second only to the Lake County, Tenn., unemployment rate of 10.2 percent. The county’s unemployment rate grew from 7.8 percent in November 2016 to 9 percent the following month. A year ago, Rhea County’s unemployment rate for December 2015 was 7.8 percent.
Rhea County’s unemployment rate is higher than both the state and federal rates, with the state unemployment rate for December 2016 at 4.9 percent, which closely mirrors the national unemployment rate of 4.7 percent. The three counties with the highest unemployment rate across the state are Scott County at 8.6 percent, Rhea County at 9 percent and Lake County at 10.2 percent. The lowest unemployment rates were found in Rutherford County at 3.7 percent, Davidson County at 3.6 percent and Williamson County at 3.5 percent.
