JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Preliminary data show Mississippi’s employers set another new record for payrolls in June.
Payrolls—which are economists’ top labor market indicators—rose slightly to 1.17 million people in Mississippi last month. That’s 14,000 more than in June 2018.
The state’s unemployment rate held steady at 5% from May to June. That’s above June 2018’s 4.7% rate.
The number of people who reported having a job rose, as did the number of job seekers. The number of unemployed people rose above 63,000, up slightly from May.
Mississippi posted the second highest unemployment rate among states behind Alaska at 6.4%.
June U.S. unemployment rate ticked up to 3.7% from multi-decade low of 3.6% in May.
The Mississippi Department of Employment Security released figures Tuesday, adjusted to cancel out seasonal changes.
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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.
