Unemployment Rate Jumps Again

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June 25, 2009

The unemployment rate in Mississippi increased a full percentage point from April to May, inching toward 10 percent once again, according to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. That one point, from 8.6 percent to 9.6 percent, represents an additional 14,300 Mississippians potentially collecting unemployment from the state.

April's rate of 8.6 percent was just a bit lower than the national rate of 8.9 percent for the same month. However, Mississippi exceeded the national rate of 9.4 percent unemployment last month. Nearly 36,000 more state residents were jobless than a year ago, an increase from just under 90,600 in May 2008, to 126,400 last month.

Fifty-four of Mississippi's 82 counties, 66 percent, saw double-digit unemployment in May. Holmes County experienced the highest rate at 18.3 percent, followed by Jefferson, Noxubee, Winston and Claiborne counties rounding out the five counties with highest unemployment, all with 17 percent or higher rates.

Nationally, 13 states reported unemployment rates of 10 percent or higher in May, according the U.S. Department of Labor. Michigan tops the national rates at 14.1 percent. Across the U.S. 312,880 people got pink slips last month in "mass" layoffs, bringing the total unemployed in America to 14.5 million. The country hasn't seen unemployment rates higher than this since the winter of 1982-83.

The Jackson area continues to see relatively low rates of unemployment, with Rankin County at 6 percent—the lowest in the state—Madison at 7.3 percent (No. 4) and Hinds at 8.4 percent (No. 14). Across the state, Lamar, Scott, and Covington counties joined Rankin and Madison as the five counties with the least number of unemployed. Still, 19,440 people in the Jackson metropolitan statistical area (Copiah, Hinds, Madison, Rankin and Simpson Counties) were looking for work in May.

Not surprisingly, the Mississippi Delta area has the highest unemployment in the state, with the rate at 12.8 percent for May 2009.

MDES defines the unemployed as "those who do not have a job, have actively looked for work during the past four weeks and are currently available for work." Not counted are individuals who have surpassed the maximum number of benefit weeks (26) and "discouraged" workers who have stopped looking for work.

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