Webster County’s unemployment rate decreased by 5 percentage points in May. The county’s jobless rate in May was 8.1%, according to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. That compares to the revised rate of 13.1% in April and 5.8% in May 2019. “The decrease in the number of unemployed Mississippians and the increase in the nonfarm employment (of over 30,000 more jobs in May) can be linked to COVID-19,” MDES stated. “As more restrictions are eased the number of unemployed should continue to decrease and the nonfarm employment should continue to increase.” The number of unemployed Webster Countians in May decreased by 180 to 300. The labor force, which is made up of everyone who has a job or is looking for one, increased by 50 to 3,740. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 10.6% in May while the national average was 13.3%. Webster’s unemployment rate was the 18th lowest rate in the state. MDES statistics from 1990 forward show the county’s highest unemployment rate for May came in 1992 when it reached 18.2%. The lowest rate for that period was in 1997, when it dropped to 3.9%. May jobless rates in adjoining counties: Calhoun, 8.6%; Chickasaw, 13.8%; Choctaw, 6.5%; Clay, 14.7%; Grenada, 8%; Montgomery, 8.9%; and Oktibbeha, 9.3%.
