Pearl River County’s unemployment rate was ranked as 23rd in the state during the month of May, a decline from the previous month’s ranking of 22nd.
Compared to the previous month, the unemployment rate saw an increase within the county.
According to information released by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, Pearl River County’s unemployment rate for the month of May was 6.6 percent, which is an increase from April’s revised rate of 5.2 percent. Overall, the rate puts Pearl River County 23rd out of the state’s 82 counties. A year ago in May the county’s unemployment rate was 7.2 percent.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Mississippi in May was 6.7 percent, a slight increase from April’s revised rate of 6.6 percent. In May of 2014 Mississippi’s adjusted unemployment rate was 7.7 percent.
Nationwide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in May was 5.5 percent, a tenth of a point increase from the previous month.
A year ago in May the nationwide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.3 percent.
Seasonally adjusted rates factor in patterns such as weather, holidays, school schedules and other occurrences that regularly affect employment rates. Only nationwide and statewide percentages are adjusted.
Mississippi’s unadjusted rate for May was 7 percent, the report states. The state’s unadjusted revised rate for April was 5.7 percent.
Mississippi’s unadjusted rate for May 2014 was 7.9 percent. Nationwide, the unadjusted unemployment rate in May was 5.3 percent, a decrease from April’s rate of 5.1 percent. In May of the previous year, the unadjusted unemployment rate in the United States was 6.1 percent.
Of Mississippi’s 82 counties, 29 reported unemployment rates at or below the statewide-unadjusted average of 7 percent. Rankin County again reported the least amount of unemployment with 4.3 percent. Madison County followed close behind with a rate of 4.8 percent.
Issaqueana County reported a population of the most unemployed with a rate of 18.3 percent while Claiborne County reported the second highest rate of 15.1 percent.