Memphis, Tennessee Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Memphis fell 0.4 percentage points in December 2011 to 9.6%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.9 percentage points higher than the Tennessee rate. The unemployment rate in Memphis peaked in June 2011 at 10.5% and is now 0.9 percentage points lower. You can also compare Memphis unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate	December 2011	Month/Month	Year/Year
National	8.5%	-0.2	-0.9
Tennessee	8.7%	-0.4	-0.7
Memphis	9.6%	-0.4	-0.2

Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.¹ All comparisons are made with December 2011 data as January metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: Memphis, Tennessee, National

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

Memphis, Tennessee Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Memphis peaked in September 2011 at 65,644. There are now 5,421 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. Memphis employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Memphis, Tennessee) is also available.

Unemployed Persons	December 2011	Month/Month	Year/Year
Memphis	60,223	-2,778	+891

Number of Unemployed Persons

Memphis, Tennessee Unemployment History

Date	National Unemployment Rate	Tennessee Unemployment Rate	Memphis Unemployment Rate	Memphis Unemployed
January 2012	8.3%	—	—	—
December 2011	8.5%	8.7%	9.6%	60,223
November 2011	8.7%	9.1%	10.0%	63,001
October 2011	8.9%	9.5%	10.4%	65,140
September 2011	9.0%	9.8%	10.5%	65,644
August 2011	9.1%	9.7%	10.4%	64,844
July 2011	9.1%	9.8%	10.5%	65,268
June 2011	9.1%	9.8%	10.5%	65,186
May 2011	9.0%	9.7%	10.3%	63,882
April 2011	9.0%	9.6%	10.1%	62,376
March 2011	8.9%	9.5%	9.9%	60,561
February 2011	9.0%	9.5%	9.9%	60,489
January 2011	9.1%	9.4%	9.8%	59,422