Lincoln County’s employment figures have more than recoveredfollowing the shock of Hurricane Katrina based on recently releasedApril statistics, an official said.

Ranked 22nd in the state, Lincoln County statistically has thelowest number of unemployed people in southwest Mississippi, saidDavid Holland, director of the Brookhaven branch office of theMississippi Department of Employment Security. And at 6.3 percent,the county is a full point below the state average of 7.3percent.

“That shows our labor market is working,” Holland said. “Peopleare getting off the rolls and going to work.”

Lincoln County’s unemployment figures offer a marked contrast tothose statewide, he said.

While statewide MDES figures show approximately 40,800 moreunemployed in April 2006 than April 2005, Lincoln County numbersactually show slightly less unemployed than a year ago.

“Our totals are not really all that different here,” Hollandsaid.

Lincoln County had 910 unemployed workers in April this yearcompared to 1,020 last year.

Most of the increase in state unemployment can still beattributed to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina on theGulf Coast, he said. Coastal Harrison and Hancock counties,traditionally among counties with the lowest unemployment rates,have not recovered. Hancock County has the worst unemployment inthe state at 14.3 percent with Harrison trailing only slightly at14.2 percent.

Much of the rest of the state, however, has made significantrecovery gains. The number of unemployed Mississippians statewidedeclined by 9,800 in April, according to the MDES, and theunemployment percentage rate improved from 8.0 in March to 7.3percent in April.

However, the 7.3 percent indicates the state is stillrecovering, Holland said. It remains .7 percent above the 6.6percent rate in April 2005.

In southwest Mississippi, figures indicate an astounding reboundfrom Katrina, Holland said.

Walthall County posted a 6.6 percent unemployment rate, whichearned it a ranking of 26th. It was trailed closely by CopiahCounty (6.7 percent) and Amite County (6.8 percent), earning themrankings of 29th and 31st, respectively.

Pike County also came in below the state average at 7.1 percentand Franklin County matched it at 7.3 percent.

Only Lawrence and Jefferson counties exceeded the state’sunemployment rate. Lawrence County posted a 7.6 percent rate,placing it 46th of the state’s 82 counties, while JeffersonCounty’s 13.5 percent rate placed it near the bottom of the listwith a ranking of 79.

The nation’s unadjusted rate of 4.5 percent fell by .3 percentwhile the seasonally adjusted rate of 4.7 remained the same.