Jackson Free Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi's unemployment rate dropped slightly to 8.9 percent in October, down 0.3 percent from September.

The report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed Tuesday that 4,300 more people were employed in October than September.

Mississippi had a 9.2 percent jobless rate in September and a 10.7 percent rate in October 2011.

The number of unemployed people fell to about 119,500 in October from 123,000 in September.

Overall, unemployment rates fell in 37 states and the District of Columbia, rose in seven and were flat in six. Nevada had the highest unemployment rate at 11.5 percent, and North Dakota had the lowest at 3.1 percent.

The national unemployment rate rose to 7.9 percent in October, essentially unchanged from September but was 1 percentage point lower than in October 2011.