Unemployment drops in county
Published 7:00 am Tuesday, May 31, 2016
The unemployment rate fell between the months of March and April in Pearl River County.
Pearl River County’s unemployment rate was ranked 37th out of 82 counties in the state during April.
According to information released by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, Pearl River County’s unemployment rate for April was 5.5 percent, which is a decrease from March’s revised rate of 6 percent. In April of 2015 the unemployment rate was 5.5 percent in the county.
Statewide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in April was 6 percent, a slight decrease from March’s revised rate of 6.3 percent. In April of 2015, Mississippi’s adjusted unemployment rate was 6.5 percent.
Nationwide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in April was 5 percent, an increase from the previous month’s rate of 5 percent.
A year ago in April, the nationwide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.4 percent.
Seasonally adjusted rates factor in patterns such as weather, holidays, school schedules and other occurrences that affect employment rates. Only nationwide and statewide percentages are adjusted.
Mississippi’s unadjusted rate for April was 5 percent, the same as the previous month’s rate, the report states.
Mississippi’s unadjusted rate for April 2015 was 5.7 percent.
Nationwide, the unadjusted unemployment rate for April was 4.7 percent, a decrease from the previous month’s rate of 5.1 percent. In April of the previous year, the unadjusted unemployment rate in the United States was 5.1 percent.
Of Mississippi’s 82 counties, 29 reported unemployment rates at or below the statewide-unadjusted average. Rankin County again reported the lowest unemployment with 3.4 percent, with DeSoto and Madison counties reporting 3.7 percent.
Jefferson County reported the highest unemployment for April at 14.4 percent followed by Issaquena County at 14.1 percent.