From staff reports
The Picayune Item
PEARL RIVER COUNTY —
Unemployment in Pearl River County decreased by 0.1 percent between the months of June and July of this year, statewide unemployment also decreased by a small amount.
Mississippi’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July 2010 was 10.8 percent. The state’s seasonally adjusted series reported an over the month decrease of two-tenths of a percentage point from 11.0 in June. In Pearl River County the unemployment rate reported for July was 11.1 percent, down from the 11.2 percent rate reported in June.
When compared to a year ago, the rate was 1.1 percentage points higher than the 9.7 percent reported for July 2009, according to a press release from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. The Nation’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged over the month at 9.5, but was one-tenth of a percentage point higher than the year ago rate of 9.4 percent.
Seasonally adjusted data removes the effects of events that follow a more or less regular pattern each year such as the influences of weather, holidays, the opening and closing of schools, and other recurring seasonal events. These 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 not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July 2010 was 11.5 percent, an increase of four-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month’s rate of 11.1 percent. When compared to the July 2009 rate of 10.4 percent, the rate increased 1.1 percentage points. The number of unemployed increased 5,900 over the month, while the employed total increased 6,700 from the prior month. The nation’s not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July 2010 at 9.7 percent was up one-tenth of a percentage point over the month, but was unchanged from the year ago rate. Results from Mississippi’s nonfarm employment survey, which is counted by the location of establishments, reported a not seasonally adjusted decrease of 13,200 in employment over the month, and a decrease of 6,200 from one year ago. Industry sectors registering the largest monthly employment losses were Government, Construction and Manufacturing. For the month of July 2010, only twenty-one counties in Mississippi posted unemployment rates less than or equal to the state’s rate of 11.5 percent.
Rankin County posted the lowest unemployment rate for the month of July at 6.9 percent followed by Lamar County at 8.0 percent. Twenty-four counties reported rates greater than or equal to 15.0 percent with four counties reporting rates greater than 20.0 percent. Holmes County had the highest unemployment rate for July at 22.7 percent followed by Noxubee County at 22.4 percent.
