Oktibbeha County and the city of Starkville's unemployment rates both saw a drop for April as local economies across the state reported higher job numbers in recent months.
The latest data from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security listed unemployment for Oktibbeha County in April at 3.9 percent, which is slightly below the state’s unemployment rate of 4.3 and below the national unemployment rate of 4.1 percent.
The countywide unemployment rate also dropped from the previous month’s 4.2 percent.
Unemployment for the city of Starkville in April was 3.2 percent - a decrease year-over-year from the 3.9 percent reported for Starkville in April 2016.
Starkville’s unemployment also dropped by half a percent from the previous month. showing steady job growth in the area.
Over the last five years, Starkville has seen consistent economic improvement from 6.2 percent unemployment in April 2012. Unemployment numbers in the city have fallen every April since 2012.
The county also saw a sizable improvement year-over-year, from when unemployment was 4.5 percent in April 2016.
Overall, Oktibbeha County finished with the 15th lowest unemployment rate among Mississippi counties, with Rankin County finishing atop the list with 3 percent unemployment for April.
Issaquena County finished at the bottom of the list with 11.1 percent unemployment. The only other county to finish with unemployment higher than 10 percent was Jefferson County at 11 percent.