Mississippi’s Unemployment Rate is Up

According to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security the State’s unemployment number rose slightly. The unemployment rate now is 9.4 percent. The national rate for March was nine percent.  Last month, almost 123,000 Mississippians were out of work. The construction and manufacturing industries lost the most jobs in March. Holmes County had the highest rate at 19.3 percent. Lamar and Rankin Counties had the lowest unemployment rates at six percent.  Hinds County was close-by, at eight percent. The national average is nine percent. Some metro hair stylists have seen a change in business. One Jackson woman says it’s because many of her clients are looking for work “I think a lot of people are coming in because they need to look good on job interviews,“ said Barbara Burnley-Macko.  Macko said she’s also seen an increase in people canceling appointments and cutting back on services.

Almost 9400 Mississippians received new unemployment benefits in March. The jobless rate grew 2/10th’s of a percent from February to 9.4%. A year ago in March it was 6.1%.