Oktibbeha County’s unemployment rate continues to fall, signaling a steadily improving local economy.
The latest data from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security reported the county’s unemployment rate for October fell three-tenths of a percentage point from September’s mark, coming in at a preliminary 4 percent.
Year-over-year, unemployment in Oktibbeha County fell by more than a percentage point, from 5.1 percent in October 2016.
Among Mississippi counties, Oktibbeha County tied Alcorn, Grenada and Tallahatchie counties for the 13th lowest unemployment rate.
The county’s labor force, which consists of everyone who has a job or is looking for a job, was reported to be 23,530, while 22,580 were listed as employed.
The city of Starkville saw unemployment fall from 3.6 percent in September to a preliminary 3.4 percent for October. Starkville’s labor force was reported to be 12,720 for October, while the number of employed came in at 12,280.
Oktibbeha County continues to lead the way for the Golden Triangle area and surrounding counties, which reported unemployment rates including: Lowndes (4.8 percent), Clay (6.1 percent), Choctaw (4.3 percent), Webster (4.7 percent), Chickasaw (4.9 percent), Winston (5.3 percent) and Noxubee (6.4 percent).
Unemployment in Oktibbeha County has also continued a steady trend of improvement since 2012, falling every year for the month of October from 7.4 percent in 2012.
Mississippi’s October unemployment rate (4.9 percent) is also three-tenths of a percentage point lower than September and eight-tenths of a percentage point lower than October 2016, when the rate was 5.7 percent.
Three counties tied for the lowest unemployment rates among Mississippi counties, with Lamar, Rankin and Union counties reporting unemployment at 3.3 percent.
Jefferson County finished with the highest unemployment rate among Mississippi counties at 10.3 percent, making it the only county in the state to report unemployment higher than 10 percent.
While Mississippi’s unemployment rate continued to improve into the fall months, it still lagged the national unemployment rate of 4.1 percent for October.