According to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, the state’s unemployment rate has risen slightly since February’s numbers.
In March 2019 Mississippi’s unemployment rate was 4.9%, which is the third lowest level of unemployment ever recorded in Mississippi. The unemployment rate has now been below 5% for eighteen months in a row.
The March rate is one-tenth of a percentage point higher than a month earlier in February 2019 but is the same as of a year ago in March 2018 when the rate was 4.9%. In March the number of nonfarm jobs in Mississippi decreased by 900 to 1,159,700. Over the year since March 2018, the number of jobs in our state increased by 7,500.
This comes after the Labor Force, which is made up of everyone who has a job or is looking for a job, declined back in March by 2,800 to 1,267,500. Over the year since March 2018, the Labor Force fell by 9,800.
The number of Mississippians working also declined in March by 3,700 to 1,206,000. Over the year since March 2018, employment in our state decreased by 9,100.
The number of unemployed Mississippians in March was 61,500, which was 900 higher than a month earlier in February 2019; however, over the year since March 2018, the number of unemployed Mississippians is down by 700.
