Tennessee Economic and Fiscal Indicators
The Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research is working with the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration to produce a series of data that shows the effects of COVID-19 on Tennessee’s economy. These data are released on a monthly basis, with the exception of initial unemployment insurance (UI) claims; these data are released weekly.
Unemployment Claims, 2006 through July 2020
Last updated 7/30/20
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Tennessee has seen 739,650 initial claims in 19 weeks, with over 19,000 claims this week.
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After increasing last week, initial UI claims fell this week by a striking 6,312. Claims have generally plateaued, hovering around 20,000-25,000 for the past 9 weeks. However, this is the second time claims have fallen slightly below 20,000. UI claims are still very high on historical levels.
Distribution of Initial UI Claims: 7/25/2020
Last updated 7/30/20
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Initial Claims for 7/25 were distributed relatively evenly between Leisure and Hospitality and Professional & Business Services. Unclassified firms (other in the graph)have been associated with many claims during the past two weeks.
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Leisure and Hospitality represented nearly one-half of claims during the week of 3/21 and the share has been much smaller every week since.
Distribution of Continued UI Claims: 7/18/2020
Last updated 7/30/20
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Continued claims highlight ongoing, aggregated effects across industries. Leisure and hospitality accounts for nearly one-fourth of ongoing claims. Professional and business services and trade also have high shares of continued claims.
Tennessee Unemployment Claims in 2020
Last updated 7/30/20
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Initial claims have fallen from their historic peak. Continued claims are slowly declining. This week marks the twelfth consecutive week that initial claims have been below the previous historical high of 30,753 (01/10/2009).
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Continued claims are a better indicator of the number of individuals drawing from the trust fund. Continued claims have fallen every week since 5/2/20.
UI Claims as a Share of the Labor Force, Week Ending 7/25/2020
Last updated 7/30/20
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Only 14 counties had at least 1 percent new claims this week and two had at least 2 percent.
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More than 1 in 10 workers in Shelby and Davidson counties had continued claims during the week.
Total UI Claims since 3/21 and Percent of Workforce Filing Claims, Week Ending 7/25/2020
Last updated 7/30/20
- More than one in five workers have filed for unemployment in six of Tennessee’s workforce areas. Claims remain lowest among more rural, northern parts of Tennessee, and tend to be higher along the state’s southern border.
Percent Change in New UI Claims since 7/18/2020, Week Ending 7/25/2020
Last updated 7/30/20
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Claims decreased at least 19 percent in every region of Tennessee this week.
Unemployment Rate by County, June 2020
Last updated 7/23/20
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Unemployment rates are higher in all Tennessee counties than last June. Thirty-one counties had rates above 10 percent. High rates are spread across the state, but rates tend to be somewhat lower across counties along the northern state border.
Employment Growth Rate by County, 1-Year Change June 2020
Last updated 7/23/20
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Every county had less employment in June 2020 than the previous June, with middle Tennessee generally experiencing the largest decreases. Forty-two counties saw employment decline by more than 10 percent.
Local Sales Tax Revenue Growth by County, June 2019-June 2020
Last updated 7/16/20
Note: Read more about June tax collections in our preliminary monthly report.
- Ninety-two of Tennessee’s counties saw sales taxes rise in June. Many counties saw very high growth rates leading up to COVID-19, in part because the sales tax on remote sales is now being collected on a destination basis. The pattern continued in June with 20 counties seeing revenues grow more than 30 percent.
- Moore, Davidson and Sevier counties saw very large sales tax decreases.
U.S. & Tennessee Unemployment Rate
Last updated 7/16/20
Note: U.S. data for May released on July 2. Tennessee data for May released July 16.
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Tennessee had a 9.7% unemployment rate in June 2020, a decline from May’s 11.0% unemployment rate.
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The U.S. unemployment rate continues to fall. The 11.1% June unemployment rate remains higher than any other time since the Great Depression.
U.S. & Tennessee Total Nonfarm Employment Growth
Last updated 7/16/20
Note: U.S. data for May released on July 2. Tennessee data for May released July 16.
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Total Non-farm Tennessee June employment is down 4.9% compared to last year. Tennessee has seen a decline across most sectors, with Leisure & Hospitality down 15.9% and Manufacturing down 11.0% from last year.
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The U.S. added 4.8 million jobs in June, though employment remains 8.6% below last year. The greatest decline has been in Leisure & Hospitality, falling by 27.1%. Employment has fallen by more than 10% in Information, Other Services, Mining, and Logging.
UI Claims Data, by Week
Download the Report (Last Update 7/30/20)
Released Monthly: Unemployment, Employment Growth, & Local Sales Tax Revenue
Note: Employment and sales tax revenue data are released monthly for the month prior, so April's report shows March data. The data are collected mid-month, so in this case the March data will not reflect the effects of COVID-19. That effect will be visible in April's monthly data when it is released in May.