Unemployment: Lincoln County numbers rise again

Published 2:00 pm Monday, December 26, 2022

Unemployment in Lincoln County has bumped back to 3.5 percent for November, after dropping one month to 3.2 percent.

From a labor force of 14,240 in the county, 500 people said they were available for work, but unable to find any. In October, there were 450 unemployed people from a labor force of 14,320. With 60 less people in the labor pool for November and 50 additional people jobless, neither move is positive. One year ago, the county’s labor force was 14,950 and 490 were jobless — a rate of 3.3 percent.

The civilian labor force does not take into account full-time students, farm workers or members of the military. Statewide, 29 counties were at or better than the state jobless average of 3.7 percent.

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Mississippi reported 45,300 people unemployed from a labor pool of 1.241 million for November. At 8,700 fewer workers in the labor force from October, and 2,600 more people unemployed, the state’s jobless rate climbed from 3.4 percent to 3.7.

The U.S. average was 3.4 percent — the same as October. Though the labor force dropped by nearly half a million, there were 96,000 fewer people without jobs.

Rankin County did not return to the No. 1 slot on the list, remaining tied in second with Lamar and Union counties at 2.7 percent. Lafayette County slipped into the top space with a low 2.6 percent unemployment rate.

In the 19th spot, Lincoln County tied at 3.5 with Forrest, Harrison, Monroe, Tate and Webster counties. The bottom county was Jefferson once again, with 11.4 percent unemployment. Though the county only had 210 people unemployed, its labor pool was only 1,820 for the month.

Counties bordering Lincoln had October unemployment rates ranging from 4.4 in Copiah to 11.4 percent in Jefferson. The others were Pike, 4.5; Lawrence and Walthall, 4.7; Amite, 4.8; and Franklin, 5.4.

Issaquena County has the smallest labor force, at only 300 people — 10 fewer than one month earlier. For the fourth consecutive month, 20 of those were unemployed. Because the labor pool has changed each month, however, the jobless rate has ranged from 6.6 to 7.7, currently at 7.1.

Hinds County had 3,730 unemployed, 230 fewer than in October. Its labor force dropped by 1,290. Combined, those factors resulted in a 3.8 percent jobless rate, down from 3.9 in October.

Monthly estimates of the labor force, employment, unemployment and the unemployment rate are generated by the Local Area Unemployment Statistics Program, a cooperative program between the Bureau of Labor Statistics and State Employment Security Agencies.

The Mississippi Department of Employment Security’s WIN Job Centers are available all over the state, including Brookhaven, to offer programs and resources geared toward helping individuals find employment. The Brookhaven office at 545 Brookway Blvd. serves Copiah, Franklin, Lawrence and Lincoln counties. Amite, Pike and Walthall counties are served by the McComb office at 1400-A Harrison Ave. Jefferson County is served by the Natchez office at 107 John Pitchford Pkwy.