State Payrolls, Jobs Up

BY JEFF AMY
Associated Press

JACKSON – Mississippi’s employers added 6,000 jobs to their payrolls in September and the state’s unemployment rate fell again, although it remains the second-highest in the nation.

The state’s jobless rate fell to 7.7 percent, down from 7.9 percent in August and 8.4 percent in September 2013. The decrease was driven by people stopping job searches, with fewer people actually reporting they had jobs.

Georgia had the worst jobless rate among states at 7.9 percent.

A separate survey shows Mississippi payrolls rose by 6,000, the largest gain in a year.

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

The report found 96,000 Mississippians were unemployed in September, down more than 3,000 from August and below September 2013’s number of 107,000.