More jobs have boosted the local economy and the city of Starkville saw its unemployment fall as job totals rose.
The Mississippi Department of Employment Security released its most recent employment data this week, with Starkville’s unemployment rate listed at 3.4 percent, while Oktibbeha County saw unemployment decrease to 3.8 percent.
Starkville saw a substantial improvement from 5.2 percent unemployment In January.
Mississippi’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate also fell, from 5.5 percent in January to 5.2 percent in February. MDES says February’s unemployment rate is the lowest Mississippi has seen since May 2001.
Preliminary numbers for Starkville showed 12,790 people are listed in the labor force, while 12,350 are employed.
Neighboring Lowndes County saw unemployment drop from 6.5 percent in January to 4.7 percent in February, showing a steady trend of job growth across the Golden Triangle.
The national unemployment rate is 4.7 percent for February, which fell slightly from 4.8 percent in January.