By David Howell

Unemployment remains relatively steady in Panola County with only a two-tenths of one percent increase from June to July.

The unemployment rate for July was 13.1 compared to 12.9 in June.

The latest figures from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security report 40 more people are out of work in July (2,170) compared to June (2,130).

There was no change reported in the county’s total labor force, 16,530. The labor force is defined as the estimated number of people eligible for work or actively looking for work.

The July 2011 unemployment rate is similar to last July, when MDES reported Panola had 13.4 percent unemployment.

Five years ago, in July 2006, the rate was 8.7 percent.

In comparison to the six surrounding counties, the Panola unemployment rate was less than Quitman (14.3) and Tunica (17.8), but higher than Tallahatchie (12), Yalobusha (12.2), Tate (12.3), and Lafayette (9.4).

Initial unemployment insurance claims are down while continuing claims went up over the month. Initial claims were 207 in July compared to 160 in June.
Continuing claims went from 1,816 in June to 2,372 in July.

Mississippi’s unadjusted unemployment rate of 11.1 percent for July remained unchanged over the month and over the year.

The number of unemployed decreased 600 over the month, while the employed total decreased 2,500 from the prior month.

The nation’s not-seasonally- adjusted unemployment rate for July 2011 at 9.3 percent was unchanged over the month, but decreased four-tenths of a percentage point from the year-ago rate of 9.7 percent.

For the month of July 2011, only twenty-one counties in Mississippi posted unemployment rates less than the state’s rate of 11.1 percent. Rankin County posted the lowest unemployment rate at 6.6 percent while Clay County had the highest unemployment rate at 20.1 percent.