Updated May 24, 2019

In April, for the first time ever, the unemployment rate  hit a record low of 2 percent, according to data released Thursday by     the    Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce   Development.

  Giles County's unemployment rate was 2.9, which is down    0.6 from    the 3.5 unemployment rate in March. In April 2018, Giles'           unemployment rate was 3.5.

Unemployment rates for 94 of Tennessee’s 95 counties dropped in April 2019 with only Maury County’s rate of 2.8 percent remaining unchanged from March.

Ninety-four counties have rates lower than 5 percent and only one county’s rate is higher than 5 percent.

Clay County has the state’s highest rate in April at 5.6 percent, which is a 0.4 of a percentage point decrease from the previous month. Hancock and Rhea counties have the next highest rates at 4.9 percent. Those rates represent a 0.9 of a percentage point drop for Hancock County and the rate is 0.8 of a percentage point lower in Rhea County when compared to the previous month.

Statewide, unemployment remains at Tennessee’s historic low of 3.2 percent. It is the third consecutive month the rate has been at the record level.

County unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted, while the state and national rates use the seasonal adjustment to eliminate outside influences on the statistics.