The two counties with the highest unemployment in Mississippi are in or near the Golden Triangle.
About 1,060 people in Clay County were looking for jobs last month, according to data released by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. That’s 15.1 percent jobless rate, which ranks highest in the state.
In Noxubee County, the percentage was not much better. About 500 people there were unemployed in October. That’s 14.1 percent of the population eligible to work, MDES data states.
While far from the statewide average rate of 7.7 percent last month, Clay County has shown noticeable improvement in a year’s time. The county’s unemployment rate in October 2013 was 18.2 percent, more than 3 percent higher than it is now. The same goes for Noxubee County, which had an unemployment rate of 15.3 percent 12 months ago.
Percentage wise, Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties are faring better. Lowndes County’s rate last month of 8.5 percent is a 1.1 percent improvement from last October. According to MDES, that percent is equivalent to 2,220 people looking for work. MDES statistics indicate that about 30 more people had jobs in Lowndes County last month than the month before.
Oktibbeha County’s rate was below the statewide average at 7.1 percent, which equates to about 1,490 people. Those figures reflect no change from September 2014. The rate was 7.7 percent last October.
Oktibbeha and Lowndes counties finished 22 and 53 out of the state’s 82 counties measured from the lowest to highest rates. Rankin County finished at the top of the list with the lowest rate of 4.6 percent.
Statewide non-farm employment improved by 2,600 jobs from September to October and 4,100 jobs over a 12-month timespan. Jobs in the industries of government and educational and health services saw the most gains in October from September.
The 7.7 percent MDES calculation includes a seasonal adjustment, which is a formula that takes into account seasonal factors such as holidays and weather. The seasonally adjusted nationwide rate was 5.8 percent With that adjustment removed, the unemployment rate in Mississippi was 7.3 percent last month, and the national rate was 5.5 percent.
MDES publishes unemployment statistics each month using survey data from households and employers across the state.
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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