Unemployment Rates Fall In Mississippi, Hit 12-Year Low

JACKSON, Miss. (WCBI-TV) – There’s good news Tuesday about people finding work in Mississippi.

The state’s unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest point in more than 12 years, according to the latest information from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.

Unemployment fell to 5.6 percent in December. That’s the lowest level since the same rate in January of 2004. It’s a drop from November’s 5.7 percent and more than a percentage point better from December 2015, when it was 6.8 percent.

The national unemployment rate is 4.7 percent as of December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Below is more information from a release from the employment security department.

The number of unemployed Mississippians also dropped again in December by 1,200 to 72,200.  This is the lowest number of Mississippians without jobs since July 2001 when 70,300 were unemployed.  The December 2016 figure is 15,100 lower than a year ago in December 2015.

The Labor Force, which is made up of everyone who has a job or is looking for a job, increased in December by 4,200 to 1,288,200.  Over the year since December 2015, the Labor Force decreased by 900.

The number of people working in Mississippi rose in December by 5,400 to 1,216,000.  For the year since December 2015, employment in our state posted an increase of 11,100.

The preliminary projections from a separate sampling of employers are that the number of non-farm jobs in December decreased by 7,200 to 1,133,600.  Over the year since December 2015, non-farm jobs decreased by 11,100.