Chattanooga’s May unemployment rate ticks up after historic low in April

Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Anthony Wiley talks to job fair attendees at the Urban League of Chattanooga booth during a job fair at Brainerd High School on March 25, 2023. The Chattanooga region's unemployment rate has increase slightly after historic lows in April. Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Anthony Wiley talks to job fair attendees at the Urban League of Chattanooga booth during a job fair at Brainerd High School on March 25, 2023. The Chattanooga region's unemployment rate has increase slightly after historic lows in April.

By Ben Sessoms June 28, 2024 4 min read

After a historic low in April, unemployment rates locally, statewide and for the nation as a whole ticked upward in May, indicating the economy is starting to cool down, according to local economists.

The six-county Chattanooga metro area, which has a labor force of more than 288,000 people, saw a 2.8% unemployment rate in May, up from the historic low of 2.5% in April.

May’s rate is more aligned with March’s at 2.9%. The latest numbers are down from May a year ago when the unemployment rate in the Chattanooga metro area was 3.1%.

The rate is far below what it was in April 2020 when unemployment in the area reached a rate of 13.5% at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.