Marion County’s unemployment rate jumped to 6.0 percent in June from 4.9 percent in May, although that’s typical based on seasonal job variations.
June typically has the highest unemployment rate of any month in Marion County, with January having the second-highest.
The state and federal unemployment numbers are seasonally adjusted to eliminate those sort of normal swings, but county data is not adjusted.
The Mississippi Department of Employment Security released the June numbers Tuesday.
Marion County ranked 27th among Mississippi’s 82 counties and was equal to the statewide rate, which also jumped from 4.9 percent to 6.0 when not adjusted. The seasonally adjusted statewide rate was 5.0 percent.
There were 9,650 employed people in Marion County in June 2018 versus 9,560 in June 2019. The labor force also fell from 10,300 a year ago to 10,170 now.
Rates in June for other surrounding counties include:
• Lamar, 4.5 percent (2nd in state)
• Walthall, 8.4 percent (70th in state)
• Lawrence, 7.3 percent (56th in state)
• Jeff Davis, 8.2 percent (67th in state)
• Pearl River, 5.7 percent (20th in state)
• Forrest, 5.7 percent (20th in state)
The unemployment rate is based on where workers live, not where their jobs are.
