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Obion County Unemployment Rate Improves

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Obion County is no longer among the top-10 Tennessee counties with the highest  unemployment rates.

The state’s April job figures indicate that, for the first time in almost two years, the county’s 11.5 percent jobless rate is just outside the worst in the state.

Obion’s higher percentages are due mainly to the Goodyear plant closure in Union City two years ago. The tire manufacturer was the county’s largest employer with almost 2,000 jobs.

State unemployment numbers from that time indicate a 16.6 percent employment rate when the company left. Four of the top 10 unemployed counties in the state are in northwest Tennessee.

Western Kentucky only has one county – Fulton – with rates in double digits. 

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