From press & staff reports
Choctaw County saw a slight increase in its unemployment rate, while the entire state rate fell to the lowest level of unemployment ever recorded in Mississippi.
Choctaw County’s unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted) for the month of November 2017 was 4.6 percent, which was a 0.3 percent increase from the October 2017 rate of 4.3 percent.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Mississippi in November 2017 was 4.8 percent. Using the current method of calculating state unemployment rates, this is the lowest the rate has been for any month back through January 1976.
The state’s seasonally adjusted series reported an over the month decrease of one-tenth of a percentage point from 4.9 in October. When compared to one year ago, the rate was eight-tenths of a percentage point lower than the 5.6 percent reported for November 2016.
The number of non-farm jobs in Mississippi rose by 3,400 in November to 1,159,000, which are the most jobs in Mississippi since February 2008.
Over the year since November 2016, the number of jobs in our state increased by 12,200. These numbers are based on a survey of employers. That employer survey is recognized as the most reliable indicator of job growth.
Seasonally adjusted data removes the effects of events that follow a more or less regular pattern each year such as the influences of weather, holidays, the opening and closing of schools, and other recurring seasonal events. These adjustments make it easier to observe the cyclical and other nonseasonal movements in a data series. Amounts are seasonally adjusted at the National and State levels only.
The unadjusted rate of unemployed people in Choctaw County for November 2017 was 4.6 percent, with the number of unemployed people being 170. The number of employed people in the county for November 2017 was 3,530.
The revised rate of unemployed people in Choctaw County for October 2017 was 4.4 percent, with the number of unemployed people being 160. The revised number of employed people in the county for October 2017 was 3,570.
The Labor Force, which is made up of everyone who has a job or is looking for a job, increased in November by 300 to 1,272,600. Over the year since November 2016, the Labor Force fell by 10,500.
The number of people working in Mississippi rose in November by 2,100 to 1,211,800. For the year since November 2016, employment in our state increased by 500.
The number of unemployed Mississippians fell by 1,800 in November to 60,800, which is the lowest number of Mississippians without jobs since September 1979.
Over the year since November 2016, the number of unemployed Mississippians decreased by 11,000.
For the month of November 2017, twenty-seven counties in Mississippi posted unemployment rates less than or equal to the state’s rate of 4.5 percent. Lamar County posted the lowest unemployment rate for the month of November at 3.2 percent followed by Rankin County at 3.3 percent.
Jefferson County had the highest unemployment rate for November at 10.9 percent followed by Issaquena County at 9.3 percent.
November jobless rates in adjoining counties:
• Calhoun, 3.7 percent.
• Grenada, 4 percent.
• Oktibbeha, 4 percent.
• Choctaw, 4.6 percent.
• Chickasaw, 4.9 percent.
• Montgomery, 5 percent.
• Clay, 6.1 percent.
