Unemployment numbers in the region dipped slightly over a 12-month period, with Oktibbeha County staying within single digits.
Lowndes County reported a 10.2 percent unemployment rate for the month of December 2012, according to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. The number is down from 10.7 percent in December 2011. The report is based on a workforce of 27,140 workers, with 2,760 people currently without jobs. Oktibbeha reported 9.3 percent unemployment in December 2012, down from 9.7 percent the previous year.
However, both Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties had higher unemployment numbers in December 2012 than in November 2012.
Clay County, with 18.4 percent, continued to have the highest unemployment numbers in the state. Noxubee was in the bottom five counties, with 15.4 percent unemployment.
Mississippi had a 9.2 percent average for December 2012, which is about two points higher than the national average of 7.6 percent.
Jeff Clark was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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