DeKalb Jobless Rate Inched Up to 5% In June

By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County’s unemployment rate for June inched up to 5% from 3.8% in May and just below the 5.1% rate for June, 2017.

The local labor force for June was 8,010. A total of 7,600 were employed and 400 were unemployed.

Jobless rates for June among the fourteen counties in the Upper Cumberland region were as follows from highest to lowest:

Van Buren: 6.5%
Jackson: 5.4%
Clay: 5.1%
Fentress: 5.1%
DeKalb: 5%
Warren: 4.9%
Cumberland: 4.6%
Overton: 4.5%
White: 4.4%
Putnam: 4.4%
Pickett: 4.3%
Macon: 4%
Cannon: 3.9%
Smith: 3.7%

The unemployment rate for each of Tennessee’s 95 counties increased in June 2018, according to data by Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) Commissioner Burns Phillips.

Unlike the statewide unemployment rate, county unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted to account for seasonal fluctuations such as yearly school closings.

“These increases in county unemployment rates are something we typically see in June,” said Phillips. “In fact, we’ve experienced this uptick every June since the state started keeping records in 1976.”

The county rates incorporate seasonal workers who are temporarily unemployed. Between May and June of this year, education service jobs were down by 38,000. These are custodians, bus drivers, and other school support staff who are not working during the summer months.

June is also typically the month when recent high school and college graduates enter the workforce and have yet to find employment, adding to the jobless count across the state.

Williamson County continued to have Tennessee’s lowest unemployment in June with a rate of 3.0 percent, which represents a 0.9 of a percentage point increase from its May 2018 rate. The current rate for Williamson County is 0.1 of a percentage point lower than it was in June 2017.

Davidson County experienced the state’s second lowest unemployment figure with a rate of 3.1 percent, up from of 2.2 percent the previous month.

Lauderdale County had the most unemployed residents in Tennessee during June. Its jobless rate of 7.0 percent is up 1.7 percent when compared to May. Bledsoe County had the second highest unemployment in the state last month. At 6.6 percent, unemployment in the county grew by 1.7 percent from the previous month’s figure.

“These increases, while something we’d rather not experience, are right on par with last June,” Burns explained. “When you look at the year-to-year comparisons for many counties, the rates are the same as they were this time last year.”

Tennessee had a seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment rate of 3.5 percent in June, which mirrored the rate from the previous month. Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate experienced a slight increase to 4.0 percent, up 0.2 of a percentage point from May’s revised unemployment rate of 3.8 percent.

Tennesseans who are searching for employment will find a variety of valuable resources on the state’s workforce website.

August 8, 2018
By:

Parker Hildreth, a recent Motlow graduate from Smithville, knows what makes him “tick” when it comes to his passion for the world of nature. Whether it is studying crayfish in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, or researching salmon in the rugged wilderness of Idaho, Hildreth has a fascination with the diversity and complexity of the natural world.

love for indigenous fauna and its world came at an early age. Instead of watching cartoons or large purple dinosaurs on television like most youngsters, he watched Animal Planet and National Geographic channels. That love led him to study biology at Motlow, and in May of this year he received his associate of science degree. He also received a Motlow Student Excellence Award, and this fall he will attend Tennessee Tech University and intends to develop a career in aquatic research.

His desire to share his passion with fellow students is evidenced by his conducting a carrion beetle study workshop last spring, supervised by Motlow Professors Janet Forde and Chatney Spencer. Hildreth led more than 20 Motlow biology students into the forests surrounding the Moore County campus to set traps to collect carrion beetles. The group returned two weeks later to retrieve the traps, taking them back to the lab for discussion and identification of the collected beetles.

“I designed this workshop to get students involved in an environment that builds fieldwork experience and attempts to create a place where passion for the natural world can be expressed,” said Hildreth. “Collectively, the insect world has a priceless wealth of knowledge seen through the vibrant diversity and numerous niches taken advantage of by carrion beetles.”

Hildreth himself has no trouble expressing his own passion for the natural world. In the summer of 2017 he served as a fisheries intern studying crayfish with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Fisheries Department. From his fieldwork and research he wrote an article that appeared in the department’s periodic newsletter.

For the summer of 2018 Hildreth is serving as a biological aide for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, studying salmon in the streams of the Idaho outback. The position entails snorkeling in fast moving water, extended work stints, camping, recording accurate data, interacting with the public, and strenuous hiking over rough terrain. He often works eight to ten days straight followed by four to six days off.

“There are few people that possess as much passion, zeal, and enthusiasm about science as Parker Hildreth,” said Chatney Spencer, Motlow chemistry instructor. “His ability to make relevant connections between seemingly unrelated matters is rivaled by few. If the future of scientific research and discovery is left in the hands of budding scientists like Parker, it truly is a safe place.”

August 8, 2018
By:

Tennesseans love their farmers markets, and the proof is in their growth.

In 2000, fewer than 50 farmers markets were listed with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s Pick Tennessee Products program. By 2014, Tennessee had 154 farmers markets, ranking first in the nation in growth of farmers markets, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The DeKalb County Farmers Market is open on Saturdays from 7 a.m. until noon beside DeKalb County Ace Hardware and the County Complex in Smithville.

With 168 active farmers markets listed on Pick Tennessee’s website and mobile app in 2018, it is easy to find local events celebrating this week’s National Farmers Market Week. Many markets make the week distinctive with special guests and activities, food demonstrations, and even live music.

Every farmers market is unique, with its own range of farmers, customer preferences, and products, representing its community in an especially nimble way. The modern farmers market has essentially become a community hub. Larger markets often host family-focused seasonal festivals, and even hip night markets complete with wine or beer tastings.

Whatever your market’s size, providing fresh, locally produced foods and other farm-direct products is its core purpose. Knowing how to choose, use, and preserve fresh foods is key to making the most of your visits. Simple strategies like having cash on hand for farmers who don’t accept cards, keeping a cooler in your car, and bringing your own reusable bags are good starts. A list of tips for getting the most out of your local market, as well as a farm-measures-to-kitchen-measures conversion calculator, are available at www.picktnproducts.org.

Pick Tennessee is the free service of Tennessee Department of Agriculture developed to connect consumers to Tennessee farmers, farmers markets, farm products, and activities, plus food and farm products grown or made in Tennessee. Visit Pick Tennessee on the web and via the free mobile app, and follow Pick Tennessee on social media.

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