Mississippi Unemployment Drops

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi’s unemployment rate kept falling in August, although payrolls shrank.

The jobless rate fell to 6.3 percent from 6.5 percent in July, and was below August 2014’s 7.4 percent rate.

The number of unemployed people fell even as the labor force grew, indicating the job market provided more new jobs than there were new job-seekers.

Mississippi remained above the national average for unemployment, tying for the fifth-highest jobless rate among states.

A separate survey shows Mississippi payrolls fell slightly in August, leaving total payrolls about 12,000 higher than a year ago.

Both sets of figures – adjusted to cancel out seasonal changes – were released Friday by the U.S. Labor Department.

There were 79,000 Mississippians unemployed in August, down more than 2,000 from July and 11,000 below August 2014.