Unemployment within Pearl River County increased by half of a percentage point between the months of May and June of this year.

According to information released by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security this week, Pearl River County’s unemployment rate for the month of June was 8.5 percent, which is only a slight increase from May’s rate of 8 percent.

Pearl River County’s unemployment rate in June of 2013 was 9.4 percent, the report states.

Statewide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Mississippi for June was 7.9 percent, a slight increase from the previous month’s rate of 7.7 percent. In June of 2013 Mississippi’s adjusted unemployment rate was 8.7 percent.

Nationwide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in June was 6.1 percent, a slight decrease from the previous month’s rate of 6.3 percent.

A year ago in June the nationwide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.5 percent.

Seasonally adjusted rates factor in patterns such as weather, holidays, school schedules and other occurrences that regularly affect employment rates. Only nationwide and statewide percentages are adjusted.

Mississippi’s unadjusted rate for June was 8.7 percent, the report states. The state’s unadjusted rate for May was 8 percent.

The unadjusted rate for Mississippi in June 2013 was 9.5 percent.

Nationwide, the unadjusted unemployment rate in June was 6.3 percent, an increase from May’s rate of 6.1 percent. In June of 2013 the unadjusted unemployment rate in the United States was 7.8 percent.

Of Mississippi’s 82 counties, 28 reported rates less than the statewide-unadjusted average of 8.7 percent for the month of June. Rankin County reported the least amount of unemployment with 5.1 percent. Lamar and Scott counties both reported unemployment rates of 6.2 percent.

Clay County reported a population of the most unemployed with a rate of 18.1 percent while Tunica County reported the second highest rate of 17.7 percent.