By David Howell

Panola County’s unemployment rate is continuing to fluctuate from month to month, going down 3.7 percentage points to 11 percent for August.

That’s down from 14.7 percent in July, according to the latest numbers from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.

However, a lower unemployment figure doesn’t necessarily mean more jobs.

There were 12,780 people employed in Panola County during July and 12,640 employed during August, according to the same MDES report. That’s 140 less jobs in August.

The difference is in the labor force, the estimated number of people eligible for work or actively looking for work. There were 14,980 people in the labor force during July and 14,210 in August.

The keywords are “statistics”    and “estimates.” The Labor Market Information Department of the MDES operates statistical programs to capture and report economic information, according to their website. The information is based on estimates.

Also lowering the jobless rate was the traditional drop in unemployment at the start of a new school year.

The 11 percent rate is lower than the August 2009 rate of 12.9 percent. However, the average rate for August during the preceding four years was only 9.2 percent.

Mississippi’s unemployment rate for August 2010 was 8.8 percent, a decrease of 2.7 percentage points from the previous month’s rate of 11.5 percent. When compared to the August 2009 rate of 9.9 percent, the rate decreased 1.1 percentage points.

The number of unemployed decreased 39,000 over the month, while the employed total decreased 200 from the prior month.

For the month of August 2010, only 22 Mississippi counties posted unemployment rates less than the state’s rate of 8.8 percent.

Unemployment rates decreased over the month in all eighty-two counties.