The Newton County unemployment rate dropped slightly in July, falling 0.3 percentage points to 3.6 percent, according to the latest report from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.
The July rate dipped just a month after rising a full point in June. The 3.6 percent rate is a full percentage point lower than a year ago, when it was 4.6 percent in July 2023. Newton County’s July unemployment rate is the 38th lowest in the state, tied with four other counties: Attalla, Benton, Neshoba, and Stone County.
The estimated number of unemployed in Newton County fell by 30 in July, down to 280, while the number of employed remained at 7,510. The county’s civilian labor force was 7,790, down 30 from the previous month.
Mississippi’s unadjusted unemployment rate for July 2024 was 3.3 percent, down 0.4 percentage points from June 2024. Compared to July 2023, the rate decreased by 0.6 percentage points. The nation’s unadjusted unemployment rate for July 2024 was 4.5 percent, up 0.2 percentage points over the month and 0.7 percentage points over the year.
Mississippi’s unadjusted nonfarm employment in July 2024 was 1,185,700, a decrease of 3,800 over the month but an increase of 19,100 from a year ago. The government sector had the largest monthly employment loss, followed by the manufacturing sector.
In July 2024, 30 counties in Mississippi had unemployment rates at or below the state rate of 3.3 percent. Rankin and Union County had the lowest unemployment rate at 2.3 percent, followed by Lamar County at 2.6 percent. Jefferson County recorded the highest unemployment rate at 13.0 percent, followed by Claiborne County at 8.7 percent.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Mississippi in July 2024 was 2.7 percent, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month and down 0.4 percentage points from a year earlier. This marks the sixth consecutive month that the unemployment rate has reached a record low. The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3 percent, up 0.2 percentage points over the month and 0.8 percentage points over the year.
The number of unemployed Mississippians decreased by 800 in July, reaching a record low of 33,400. Since July 2023, the number of unemployed Mississippians has fallen by 5,100.
In July 2024, Mississippi had a record high of 1,192,200 nonfarm jobs, according to seasonally adjusted data from a survey of Mississippi employers. The number of nonfarm jobs increased by 3,000 over the month and 13,700 over the year. The Trade, Transportation, and Utilities sector saw the largest monthly employment increase.
Seasonally adjusted data remove the effects of events that follow a regular pattern each year, such as weather, holidays, school schedules, and other recurring seasonal events. These adjustments make it easier to observe cyclical and other non-seasonal movements in a data series. Seasonally adjusted figures are available at the national and state levels only.
