Unemployment in the four Golden Triangle counties has decreased for the second straight month, according to labor market data released Wednesday by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.
Jobless rates fell by a range of 0.4 percent (Oktibbeha County) to 1.2 percent (Noxubee County) from February to March. Compared to a year ago, the unemployment rates have dropped by anywhere from 0.6 percent to 2.3 percent.
The unemployment rate in Oktibbeha County for March is 4.9 percent, which is lower than both the state (5.6 percent) and national (5.1 percent) rates.
All four counties have seen dramatic drops in unemployment when compared to March 2001. Lowndes County’s current unemployment rate of 5.9 percent is 4.7 percent lower than it was in March 2011 while Oktibbeha County unemployment fell by 4.4 percent over that same time frame. Clay County’s unemployment fell by 6.5 percent over that five-year period while Noxubee County’s unemployment rate fell by 6 percent.
In Columbus, data shows there are 810 eligible workers without jobs in a labor market of 9,760, which translates into a 9.0 percent unemployment rate. The city’s jobless rate is second highest among the state’s largest cities, trailing only Vicksburg at 9.6 percent.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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