Jobs progress called ‘remarkable’
State Economist Darrin Webb told legislative leaders Thursday that Mississippi “came late to the party” in terms of jobs creation, but has finally arrived.
“We made remarkable progress during the past 12 months,” Webb said at the conclusion of four days of hearings where the 14-member Legislative Budget Committee met with agency heads as it works to develop a budget proposal for the 2014 legislative session.
According to U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, the state had 1.124 million Mississippians employed in July 2013, up about 25,000 from the same period in 2012, but still below the 1.16 million workers in February 2008 before the recession hit later that year.
Webb told legislative leaders that after trailing the nation in economic recovery for much of the past two years, the state is now recovering at a little faster rate than the nation. He said he expects the recovery for both the state and nation to remain slow until 2015 when he said the recovery should pick up – faster for the nation than the state.
Daily Journal
9/20/13
Magnolia Tribune
