County unemployment drops slightly
Published 7:00 am Friday, October 14, 2016
The unemployment rate decreased between the months of July and August in Pearl River County.
Pearl River County’s unemployment rate was ranked 32nd out of 82 counties in Mississippi during August.
According to information released by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, Pearl River County’s unemployment rate for August was 5.8 percent, which is a decrease from July’s revised rate of 6.4 percent. In August of 2015 the unemployment rate was 5.6 percent in the county.
Statewide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in August was 6 percent, the same as July’s revised rate. In August of 2015, Mississippi’s adjusted unemployment rate was 6.3 percent.
Nationwide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in August was 4.9 percent, the same as the previous month’s rate.
A year ago in August, the nationwide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.1 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 August was 5.7 percent, a decrease the previous month’s rate of 6.5 percent, the report states.
Mississippi’s unadjusted rate for August 2015 was 6 percent.
Nationwide, the unadjusted unemployment rate for August was 5 percent, reflecting a slight drop from previous month’s rate of 5.1. In August of the previous year, the unadjusted unemployment rate in the United States was 5.2 percent.
Of Mississippi’s 82 counties, 31 reported unemployment rates at or below the statewide-unadjusted average. Rankin County again reported the lowest unemployment with 3.8 percent, with DeSoto coming in right behind with a rate of 4.1 percent.
Jefferson County reported the highest unemployment for August at 15.2 percent followed by Claiborne County at 12.2 percent.
Sectors reporting the most employment gains included government, education, professional and business and health services.