County’s Jobless Rate Is Down

WATER VALLEY – Unemployment dropped a little over the month of October, going from 9 percent in September to 8.7 percent.
The most recent figures from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security show that 5,200 people were employed in October with 490 out of work as compared to 520 in September.
The labor force was down from September, going from 5770 to 5,690 in October. The labor force is defined by MDES as the estimated number of people eligible for work or actively looking for work.
Just four years ago in October 2009, the unemployment rate was 13.8 percent. And, just one year before that in October 2008, the rate was 4.3 points less at 9.5 percent. The current rate is less than in October for the past five years and more than five points less that the high in 2009.
In comparison to the five surrounding counties, the Yalobusha unemployment rate was less than Panola (10.8), Tallahatchie (10.8) and Calhoun (9.2); but more than Grenada (8.5) and Lafayette (5.9).
Initial unemployment insurance claims rose in October, going from 71 to 79. Continuing claims were down, going from 490 in September to 429 in September.
The October 2013 initial claims (79) are lower than the initial claims in October 2012 (97). But, the October 2013 continuing claims are exactly the same as in October 2012 at 429.
Mississippi’s unadjusted unemployment rate for October 2013 was 8.2 percent, decreasing four-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month’s rate of 8.6 percent. When compared to the October 2012 rate of 8.7 percent, the rate decreased five-tenths of a percentage point.
The number of unemployed decreased 5,500 over the month, while the employed total decreased 11,300 from the prior month. The Nation’s unadjusted unemployment rate for October 2013 at 7 percent was unchanged over the month, and was half a percentage point below the year ago rate of 7.5 percent.
For the month of October 2013, only twenty-four counties in Mississippi posted unemployment rates less than the state’s rate of 8.2 percent.