Jackson Free Press

Five Mississippi counties reported jobless rates exceeding 20 percent in February, with Noxubee and Holmes counties edging toward a quarter of their populations collecting unemployment benefits; the counties reported rates of 23.3 and 23.1 percent unemployment, respectively. The other three counties are Winston (22.1 [percent), Clay (21.6 percent) and Tunica (21.1 percent).

Compared to one year ago, the state is reporting some 26,000 fewer jobs, with 155,400 people unemployed last month. The nation's average unemployment rate remained static last month at 9.7 percent, while Mississippi's rate dropped almost imperceptibly, from 12.1 percent in January to 12.0 percent in February.

Ten of Mississippi's 82 counties reported unemployment rates lower than 10 percent, including Rankin County with the lowest rate at 7.9 percent and Madison County reporting 8.5 percent. Hinds County is No. 12, with a 10.6 percent jobless rate.

Official unemployment rates do not count people who have taken part-time employment—reporting any employment at all counts individuals as employed. The numbers also do not reflect those whose benefits have expired, or those who did not actively look for work in the previous four weeks. Experts note that unofficial employment rates may be twice as high as those reported by official sources.

For additional information, go to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security Web site and click on Unemployment Rates under Labor Market Information.

Previous Commentsshow

....and the sad thing is that Haley Barbour is refusing to accept 51million for an extension of unemployment benefits. ...and the sad this is that Haley Barbour is hell bent on filing a law suit against the fed. gov. so that people who are unemployed can continue to suffer even more if they are ill. Again I ask, If the state is broke, where is the money to finance this costly legal action? I hope that Hood is as smart as the AG from Georgia and that he, too, will say "NO" to this non-sense.

justjess

Apr 1 2010

[quote]...and the sad this is that Haley Barbour is hell bent on filing a law suit against the fed. gov. so that people who are unemployed can continue to suffer even more if they are ill. [/quote] In what way does the HCR law address the needs of the unemployed?

Mark Geoffriau

Apr 1 2010

Jess, quick question. Does the 51 million for the extension come with any strings attached to it, or is it just free money?

RobbieR

Apr 1 2010

Mark, it eases eligibility for Medicaid, which provides health care for many unemployed people. About 16 million Americans will become eligible for Medicaid. For those who need to buy insurance, it sets up exchanges that should offer greater choices to consumers at reasonable costs. Most unemployed people would qualify for subsidies to purchase plans. It would ban individual insurance plans from denying coverage to those with preexisting conditions. People with insurance through a job are generally already protected from such denials. These are just off the top of my head, but it's clear that health care reform offers many benefits to the unemployed.

Brian C Johnson

Apr 1 2010

(1) Do we know specifically how the new federal eligibility rules compare with the existing MS eligibility rules? I'm assuming they are looser, given the complaints about expanding the Medicaid rolls, but I don't recall seeing an actual comparison. (2) The exchanges will not exist until 2014. Unless you think Haley Barbour (et al) has some substantive legal standing for his lawsuit, I don't see any likelihood that the implementation will be stopped or slowed. (3) In the meantime, the ban on policy denial based on pre-existing conditions means that these companies are no longer really in the business of insuring against future risk -- they are simply managing the subsidization of healthcare costs for customers. Many are predicting continued increases in healthcare insurance premiums (and some are reporting increases already).

Mark Geoffriau

Apr 1 2010