Clay Has Highest Jobless Rate; Rankin Lowest

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JACKSON, Miss. (Staff and Wire Reports) — Mississippi’s unemployment rate sits at 7.3 percent in October, according to figures released Tuesday by the state Department of Employment Security.

Clay County has the highest unemployment rate in the state at 15.1 percent, followed by Noxubee County at 14.1 percent.

The counties with unemployment rates below 5 percent include Rankin at 4.6 percent and DeSoto at 4.9 percent.

The nation’s unemployment rate is currently at 5.5 percent.

Unemployment rates across the state and region continued to edge downward in October. And two counties with some of the region’s most chronic jobless numbers showed signs of improvement.

The state’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell slightly to 7.6 percent in October. That was down six-tenths of a point from October last year.

Across the region, the number of people working increased or was unchanged compared to a year ago in 15 of 24 counties. That was the best bsince last spring.

Clay and Noxubee continued to have the state’s highest jobless rates, but both saw increases in the number of residents working.