Northeast Miss. unemployment at whopping 11.2 percent
The jobless rates for the region’s 16 counties and month-to-month change:
County June May Change
Alcorn 12.5 13.1 -0.6
Benton 14.7 13.8 -0.9
Calhoun 13.5 13.9 -0.4
Chickasaw 13.4 13.7 -0.3
Clay 16.9 17.1 -0.2
Itawamba 11.0 11.4 -0.4
Lafayette 8.8 8.3 + 0.5
Lee 10.7 10.7 NC
Marshall 13.4 13.5 -0.1
Monroe 14.6 14.6 NC
Oktibbeha 9.4 8.3 +1.1
Pontotoc 9.9 10.0 -0.1
Prentiss 12.7 13.2 -0.5
Tippah 13.8 14.4 -0.6
Tishomingo 11.9 12.2 -0.3
Union 9.8 10.1 -0.3
* Region unemployment rate/last month: 11.2 /11.6
* Total employed/last month: 193,420/194,410
* Total unemployed/last month: 24,400/25,580
By Dennis Seid
Daily Journal
Like the rest of the state the unemployment rate in Northeast Mississippi fell, but the figure is still historically high for the region at 11.2 percent.
Twelve of the region’s 16 counties posted lower figures from a month earlier, while Lee and Monroe were unchanged. Lafayette and Oktibbeha reported increases in June, likely from the increase in the number of workers entering the work force.
According to estimates provided by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, June’s jobless rate was the fifth month this year that the 16-county region posted a jobless rate of at least 11 percent.
While the labor force – the number of people employed or seeking employment – in the region dropped from 219,990 in May to 217,820 in June, the number of employed also fell, from 194,410 to 193,420. The number of unemployed also dropped, from 25,580 in May vs. 24,400 in June.
Daily Journal
7/22/9
Magnolia Tribune
