Oktibbeha County saw unemployment rise slightly in January 2017, along with the rest of the Golden Triangle.
Unemployment for the county is 5.9 percent, according to data released Wednesday by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, which is slightly higher than the state unemployment rate of 5.5 percent. The state average is unchanged from the previous month. Unemployment for the city of Starkville was slightly lower than the state average, at 5.2 percent
Oktibbeha County saw unemployment totals jump from the previous month's 5.6 percent. The city of Starkville's unemployment rate was 5.2 percent for January 2017, while Columbus is at 7.1
Clay County's 8.1 percent unemployment rate was also considerably higher than the state average.
Rankin County led the state with the lowest unemployment at 4.2 percent, while Issaquena County continues to struggle with an unemployment rate of 21.2 percent.
Issaquena County’s unemployment spiked from the previous month's total of 17.2 percent.
Neighboring Lowndes County saw unemployment rise from 5.9 percent in December 2016 to 6.5 percent in January 2017.
As a whole, Mississippi lags the national unemployment rate of 4.8 percent.