From Staff Reports/MS
PICAYUNE — The unemployment rate in Pearl River County is unofficially down from the previous month but is still higher than a year ago.
According to a press release from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, the unemployment rate in Pearl River County for November of this year is 8.8 percent. Unemployment numbers from October showed an unemployment rate of 9.5 percent. While November’s unemployment rate decreased from October’s unemployment rate, in November of 2008 Pearl River County’s unemployment rate was at 6.6 percent.
Pearl River County’s November unemployment rate is slightly lower than state and nationwide percentages, the release states.
Mississippi’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November 2009 was 9.6 percent. That rate reflects a decrease of two-tenths of a percentage point from October’s 9.8 percent. Unemployment in the state is also higher than last year, when compared to November 2008’s unemployment rate of 7.4 percent.
The nation’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased two-tenths of a percentage point over the month from 10.2 to 10 percent. Last year in November the national unemployment rate was 3.2 percentage points lower, 6.8 percent, the release states.
Seasonally adjusted data takes into account yearly events that follow a more or less regular pattern. Those regular patterns can include weather, holidays, school schedules, and any other recurring seasonal events. According to the release, seasonal 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.
Mississippi’s adjusted unemployment rate for November 2009 if not seasonally was 9 percent, decreasing from the previous month’s rate of 9.5 percent. When compared to the November 2008 rate of 6.7 percent, the rate increased 2.3 percentage points. The number of unemployed decreased 7,700 over the month while the employed total increased 6,300 from the prior month. The nation’s unadjusted unemployment rate for November 2009 was down slightly over the month at 9.4 percent but was 2.9 percentage points higher than previous year’s rate of 6.5 percent, the release states.
Results from Mississippi’s nonfarm employment survey, which is counted by the location of establishments, reported an unadjusted decrease of 3,200 employed people over the month and a decrease of 35,400 from one year ago. Industry sectors registering the largest monthly employment losses were Government; Educational & Health Services; and Leisure & Hospitality.
For the month of November 2009, only 23 counties in Mississippi posted unemployment rates less than or equal to the state’s rate of 9 percent. Unemployment rates decreased over the month in all but two counties. Rankin County posted the lowest unemployment rate for the month of November at 5.9 percent followed by Scott County at 6.2 percent. Forty-three of Mississippi’s 82 counties reported double-digit rates for the month of November with five counties reporting rates greater than or equal to 15.0 percent. The highest rate was reported by Clay County, with an unemployment rate of 17.8 percent, the release states.
