Unemployment in area counties took some expected upturns in Mayas most saw increases of one percentage point or more, according tostatistics from the Mississippi Employment Security Commission(MESC).

Lincoln County posted the third-highest increase with a2.2-percentage point jump from 3.9 percent in April to 6.1 percentin May.

The increase dislodged the county from having the lowest areajobless rate to the fourth-lowest behind Amite, Lawrence and Pikecounties. Statewide, Lincoln County ranked 34th.

Other than some seasonal factors which affected most parts ofthe state, officials were unable to identify a specific reason forLincoln County’s increase. Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber ofCommerce Executive Vice-president Chandler Russ pointed to laborforce growth.

“The civilian labor force and those seeking employment grewfaster than the economy was able to absorb those numbers,” Russsaid.

The civilian labor force grew from 13,990 in April to 14,190 inMay. The number of unemployed grew from 550 in April to 860 inMay.

Wayne Gasson, chief of labor market information for MESC, saidthe increase was in line with county trends over the last 15 years.He said Lincoln County’s May 2002 jobless was 7.8 percent and itwas 6 percent in May 2003.

“I would say it’s nothing unexpected,” Gasson said about thecounty’s increase.

Officials acknowledged the possibility of temporary layoffs atthe time of the month when job totals are reported. School studentslooking for jobs for the summer also could contribute to theincrease.

“It’s not that we lost any employment, it’s that those seekingemployment have increased,” Russ said.

Russ found some good news in the monthly jobless rate report.Since the beginning of the year, he said the number of peopleemployed has risen from 13,240 in January to 13,330 in May.

Mentioning some recent retail business openings, Russ expected adrop in the unemployment rate in the coming months.

“I think by the end of the year, you’ll see us regain leadershipin that category,” Russ said.

In other area counties, Amite County posted the lowest joblessrate at 5.1 percent. Its rate held steady from April to May.

Walthall County was the only one to have an increase of lessthan one percentage point. Its rate was up seven-tenths to 6.3percent.

Copiah County’s rate climbed one point to 6.6 percent inMay.

To the east, Lawrence County saw a 1.2-point jump to 5.7percent. To the south, Pike County had a 1.5-point increase to 5.9percent.

In Franklin County, unemployment climbed to 8.8 percent, a2.4-point jump.

With a 5 percentage point increase, Jefferson County joblessnesscame in at 20.2 percent. That was the highest in the state by sixpoints over Sharkey County’s 14.2 percent.

Jefferson and Sharkey counties were among 12 counties withdouble-digit jobless rates, MESC officials said.

Twenty-eight counties, lead by Rankin County’s 2.7 percent, hadjobless rates equal to or lesser than the statewide 5.6 percentaverage. The national unemployment rate for May was 5.3percent.