Jobless Rate Remains Steady

WATER VALLEY – Unemployment is “steady as she goes” in Yalobusha County over the period from September to October.
In fact, the unemployment rate from July through October has only varied by two-tenths of a percentage point, from 10.6 to 10.8 percent.
The unemployment rate for October was 10.7 percent compared to 10.8 percent in September.
The latest figures from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security show that the number of people out of work was 680 compared to 690 in September.
The number of people employed is shown at 5670, up from the 5660 shown employed in September. However, the labor force has remained steady at 6350 in September and October.
The labor force is defined as the estimated number of people eligible for work or actively looking for work.
The October 2011 unemployment rate is down by seven-tenths of a percentage point from the October 2010 rate of 11.5 percent when 670 people were shown as out of work. 
Four years ago, in October 2007, the rate was 7.2 percent. But, the current rate is still more than three percentage points lower than the 14.1 percent reached in October 2009.
In comparison to the five surrounding counties, the Yalobusha unemployment rate was less than Panola (12.2) and Grenada (10.8), but higher than Tallahatchie (10.2), Calhoun (8.9), and Lafayette (8.1).
Initial unemployment insurance claims as well as continuing claims went up over the month. Initial claims were 78 in October compared to 51 in September. Continuing claims went up from 399 in September to 581 in October.
Mississippi’s unadjusted unemployment rate for October was 10.2 percent, decreasing four-tenths of a percentage point from the September rate of 10.6 percent. When compared to the year ago rate of 9.8 percent, the rate increased four-tenths of a percentage point.
Over the month, the number of unemployed decreased 5,500, while the employed total increased 1,900. The Nation’s unadjusted unemployment rate for October  at 8.5 percent was down three-tenths of a percentage point from the prior month, and five-tenths of a percentage point from the year ago rate of 9.0 percent.
For the month of October, only twenty-three counties in Mississippi posted unemployment rates less than or equal to the state’s rate of 10.2 percent. Rankin County posted the lowest unemployment rate for the month of October at 6.6 percent. Six counties reported rates greater than 15.0 percent. Clay County had the highest unemployment rate for October at 19.1 percent.