Benton County jobless rate drops to 4.7% in July

Benton County’s unemployment rate fell to 4.7% in July, down four-tenths of a point from 5.1% in June, according to figures released Aug. 27 by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The rate was down from 5.4% in July 2025, a seven-tenths improvement over the year.

An estimated 282 county residents were counted as unemployed out of a labor force of 5,944, leaving 5,662 people working.

The decline was nearly statewide. Unemployment rates fell from June to July in 93 of Tennessee’s 95 counties, the department said; Obion County’s rate was unchanged and Weakley County’s was the only one to rise. Eighty-nine counties posted rates below 5%. Cheatham, Sevier, Williamson and Dickson counties tied for the state’s lowest rate at 2.8%, while Perry County’s 5.8% was the highest. Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted statewide rate fell to 3.4%, a two-year low. County rates are not seasonally adjusted.

Rates fell across most of the surrounding area. Humphreys County posted the lowest rate among Benton’s neighbors at 3.7%, followed by Henry County at 4.4% and Carroll County at 4.5%. Decatur County stood at 4.6%.

Benton County belongs to the state’s Northwest Local Workforce Development Area, a nine-county region that includes Carroll, Crockett, Dyer, Gibson, Henry, Lake, Obion and Weakley counties. That region posted a combined rate of 4.1% in July, down from 4.2% in June.

The Labor Department will release statewide unemployment data for August on Sept. 17.