County’s jobless rate is higher than neighbors’

By Rita Howell
Panola County’s jobless rate continues to reflect more people without jobs than in any of the surrounding counties, with the exception of Quitman.
Panola’s September unemployment rate, released last week by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, was 6.6 percent, up only .1 percent higher than the August rate.
Among the six contiguous counties, only Quitman has a higher rate, 7.0. Other rates are: Tate, 4.9; Lafayette, 3.9; Yalobusha, 5.3; Tallahatchie, 4.3, and Tunica, 5.4.
The state’s jobless rate for September was 4.7 percent, and the U.S. rate was 4.1.
The figures reflect those currently seeking employment.
Panola ranks 70th in unemployment percentage among the 82 counties. The county with the most people working is Rankin, with a 3.4 percent unemployment rate. Jefferson County has the worst current rank, with a jobless rate of 11.3 percent.
The MDES reports that Panola has a labor force of 13,200, with 12,330 employed in September, and 870 unemployed.
Last September Panola’s jobless rate was 7.1 percent. Five years ago, in September 2012, Panola’s employment rate was 11.8.