Oktibbeha County and Starkville saw a drop in unemployment in February.
According to preliminary data from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, Oktibbeha County’s unemployment rate fell to 4 percent, and Starkville’s unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent.
In January, Oktibbeha County’s unemployment rate was reported at 4.5 percent, and Starkville’s unemployment rate was reported at 3.7 percent.
For February, Oktibbeha County’s labor force, which is made up of everyone who is employed or is looking for a job, was reported to be 23,190, with 22,270 employed and 920 unemployed.
Starkville’s labor force for February was reported to be 12,650, with 12,210 employed and 440 unemployed.
The Golden Triangle also saw a drop in unemployment, falling from 5.1 percent in January to 4.8 percent in February.
The Golden Triangle’s labor force was reported at 74,320, with 70,770 employed and 3,550 unemployed.
Other Golden Triangle county unemployment rates for February include: Chickasaw (4.4 percent), Choctaw (5 percent), Clay (5.6 percent), Lowndes (4.7 percent), Monroe (4.5 percent), Noxubee (6.4 percent), Webster (5 percent) and Winston (5.5 percent).
The state and nation both followed the trend and saw a drop in unemployment in February.
Mississippi’s unemployment rate fell from 4.6 percent in January to 4.5 percent in February.
The state’s labor force was reported at 1,270,500 with 1,213,800 employed and 56,700 unemployed.
The nation’s unemployment rate fell dropped from 4.5 percent in January to 4.4 percent in February. Of the country’s labor force made up of 161,494,000 people, 154,403,000 were reported employed and 7,091,000 were reported unemployed in February.
In Mississippi, Rankin County reported the lowest unemployment rate in February at 3.1 percent, while Jefferson County had the highest at 13.7 percent.