As the nation’s sluggish economy continues to slowly move forward, unemployment rates continue to drop throughout the area, with the Golden Triangle reporting a 10.4 percent unemployment rate in March, compared to an 11.4 percent rate in February and 12.7 percent last March.
Lowndes County’s unemployment rate last month was 9.1 percent, compared to 9.9 percent in February and 11.5 percent last March.
Oktibbeha County reported the lowest rate — 8.7 percent in March and 9.6 percent in February. Rates in Noxubee and Clay counties remain well above the state average of 9.1 percent in March.
The March rate for Clay was 15.7 percent, and the rate for Noxubee was 15.4 percent. February rates were 16.4 percent for Clay and 16.9 percent for Noxubee. Last March, rates in Clay and Noxubee skyrocketed to 17.9 percent and 17.4 percent, respectively.
Although a scientific calculation for the drop in unemployment is not used, several factors may be at play, noted Meagan Coughlin, operations coordinator of The CPI Group, a staffing and human resources consulting firm based in Columbus.
“Regardless of the economy, we typically see a boom, during early spring every year, for staffing needs for businesses and industries in our area,” said Coughlin.
“By early spring, most companies have wrapped up their end of the year budgets, as well as gotten over the holidays,” she explained. “This allows companies to appropriate funds to specific staffing needs and business has picked up with the holiday season out of play. In addition, spring brings seasonal work and a need for more temporary employees. According to the American Staffing Association, temporary and contract employment rose 1.84 percent during the week of April 9 and since the beginning of 2012, temporary and contract employment grew by 22 percent.”
Mississippi’s unemployment rate for March dropped 0.7 percent from 2011. Mississippi has seen its biggest decline in more than a year, as unemployment in the state dropped 1.5 percent to 9.0., with a .06 percent drop from February. A May 1 job fair at East Mississippi Community College in Mayhew could help continue the improvement.
“The economy is improving in our region and the job fair is an excellent time for people, who are still unemployed, to meet a wide variety of new employers,” said Linda Gates, EMCC district director of Job Placement, Work-Based Learning and Military Liaison. “There are lot of people who think they can’t retool and learn new skills. There are some tremendous education programs at our school that will improve their chances of getting the jobs that are out there and the ones that are coming.”
Gates said the job fair will allow people seeking employment to talk to vendors about building skills for higher paying jobs. More than 50 employers are expected to showcase at the event, with thousands predicted to attend.
“We have some great economic developers in the area and the (Columbus-Lowndes Development) Link’s partnership with West Point and the things that are happening in Oktibbeha County are going to attract more industries to the area. We have to have people trained for these jobs. This is another benefit of the job fair.”
For more information on the job fair, visit eastms.edu or call Gates at 662-243-1978.
Jeff Clark was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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