Mississippi’s unemployment rates are down for July, according to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.
MDES released July’s unemployment figures on Wednesday.
The state’s non-seasonally adjusted rate for July came in at 6.5 percent. In June, the state reported a 6.8 percent non-adjusted unemployment rate.
MDES reported Oktibbeha County had the lowest unemployment rate in the Golden Triangle for July, at 6.8 percent. The rate is down almost a full percentage point from June’s revised rate of 7.7 percent.
Lowndes County reported a 7.1 percent unemployment for July, down slightly from the revised rate of 7.2 percent in June.
Clay County maintained the highest rate of the three counties, with a slightly increase from June’s 9.9 percent to 10.6 percent in July.
Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates account for normal employment trends that occur through the year.
On the state level, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose slightly from 5.9 percent in June to 6 percent in July.
MDES Chief of Labor Market Information Mary Willoughby said it’s normal for unemployment levels to hold steady during June and July. She said a drop in the unemployment rate typically comes in August as students leave the workforce and return to school and school-related employees return to work.
The state’s and Golden Triangle county unemployment rates are lower than they were in July 2015.
Willoughby said the trend has held throughout the year for Mississippi.
“Every month this year, on the unadjusted statewide rate, each month this year has been lower than the same month last year,” she said.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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