Unemployment up slightly in Pearl River Co.

Published 7:00 am Thursday, November 26, 2015

Unemployment increased in September in Pearl River County.

Pearl River County’s unemployment rate was ranked as 26th out of 82 counties in the state during the month of September, which is an increase compared to August’s ranking of 22nd.

According to information released by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, Pearl River County’s unemployment rate for the month of September was 5.6 percent, which is an increase from August’s revised rate of 5.2 percent.

Sign up for our daily email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Mississippi in September was 6.1 percent, a decrease from August’s revised rate of 6.3 percent. In September of 2014, Mississippi’s adjusted unemployment rate was 7.3 percent.

Nationwide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in September remained the same over the month at 5.1 percent.

A year ago in September the nationwide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.9 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 September was 5.9 percent, the report states. The state’s unadjusted revised rate for August was 5.7 percent.

Mississippi’s unadjusted rate for September 2014 was 7.4 percent.

Nationwide, the unadjusted unemployment rate in September was 4.9 percent, decreasing slightly from August’s rate of 5.2 percent. In September of the previous year, the unadjusted unemployment rate in the United States was 5.7 percent.

Of Mississippi’s 82 counties, 29 reported unemployment rates at or below the statewide-unadjusted average of 5.9 percent. Rankin County again reported the least amount of unemployment with 3.7 percent followed by Madison County with 4.2 percent.

Issaquena and Jefferson counties reported the highest unemployment rate for September at 11.8 percent.

According to the report, in September the number of jobs in Mississippi was unchanged from August, but showed an increase of 11,900 jobs from September 2014. This number is based on a survey of Mississippi employers.

Grenada, Harrison and Tishomingo counties’ rates were also 5.6 percent, the same as Pearl River County’s.