By Floyd Ingram
Chickasaw Journal
CHICKASAW COUNTY – Having a job means having a paycheck and the ability to pay the bills and enjoy life and therefore things apparently got better around here last month.
Houston and Chickasaw County notched its lowest unemployment rate in years last month with a 7.4 percent jobless rate compared to a 10.1 unemployment rate in October of last year. The 2015 number is down from an October high of 11.9 in 2011.
And for the third month in a row, the number of jobs in the county is up, too. Chickasaw County saw 6,780 people employed last month compared to 6,440 working adults in September and 6,390 in August. The state defined some of last month’s increase to migrant workers harvesting crops in the area.
Chickasaw County also saw a drop in the benefits paid to unemployed workers. Last month’s total benefits paid topped out at $51,654 compared to $57,335 the previous month and $114,189 in October 2014.
Last month the county reported a labor force of 7,260 people with 324 on some type of unemployment assistance.
Northeast Mississippi remains on track to post its lowest annual unemployment rate in the 10 years the Daily Journal has kept track of the figures for the region.
In October, the 16 counties comprising the region posted a collective 5.1 percent unemployment.
The preliminary figures, provided by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, is the third consecutive month – and fourth time this year – the region has recorded a jobless rate under 6 percent.
Going back to 2005, the four lowest jobless rates for the region have been recorded this year: 5.1 percent in October, 5.5 percent in April and August, and 5.7 percent in September.
Until this year, the lowest monthly jobless rate was 6.3 percent, recorded in September 2005, two years before the Great Recession officially took hold. That economic downturn officially started in June 2007 and ended in December 2009, but the region was hit hard in its aftermath.
From April 2009 until January 2012, the region struggled with 34 months of double-digit unemployment rates.
Statewide, the unemployment rate in October dropped below 6 percent – to 5.9 percent – for the first time in eight years.
The national jobless rate was 4.8 percent in October.
State and national figures are adjusted to compensate for seasonal variations, while county figures are not adjusted.
The number of unemployed people in the state fell even as the labor force grew, indicating the job market had more new jobs than there were job-seekers.
In Northeast Mississippi, there were 11,490 people unemployed in October, down from 12,840 a month earlier.
Lafayette County’s 4.4 percent jobless rate was the lowest in the region. It was tied for fourth-lowest statewide with DeSoto County. Union County (4.7 percent) was seventh-lowest in the state, Lee County (5.2) and Alcorn County (5.3) rounded out the top ten.
Clay County (9.2) was the highest in the region, but trailed 10 other counties statewide
JOBLESS RATE:
The Chickasaw County annual average unemployment rate over the past 20 years as compiled by the Mississippi Department of Employment and Security.
1992 – 10.2
1993 – 8.7
1994 – 8.4
1995 – 11.6
1996 – 10.3
1997 – 10.4
1998 – 9.2
1999 – 5.4
2000 – 4.8
2001 – 10.2
2002 – 9.9
2003 – 8.9
2004 – 8.4
2005 – 9.5
2006 – 9.2
2007 – 10.2
2008 – 11.2
2009 – 13.2
2010 – 12.8
2011 –12.6
2012 – 11.0
2013 – 11.5
2014 – 10.3
2015 – 8.4 (estimated)
(11.82% = 20 year average)
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