Unemployed total drops in July by 1.4% for Kemper

Kemper County’s July 2021 unemployment rate of 9.4% dropped when compared to the previous month rate of 10.8%,  according to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.

That’s 2.7 points above the state’s rate of 6.7 unemployment percent. The national percentage of unemployed stands at 5.7%.

This is an improvement over the same time last year in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Kemper County’s unemployment rate stood at 11.6%. Businesses and industries were forced to halt or scale back operations and send their employees home to avoid infection. At that time, Mississippi’s unemployment rate stood at 9.6% while the nation’s rate was at 10.3%.

Kemper County’s labor force in July 2021 stood at 3,510 people. Of that, 330 people were out of work.

Here is a look at the unemployment rates in neighboring counties.

July 21 June 21 July 20

Neshoba  6.8 7.8 13.2

Leake 6.7 7.5 9.7

Lauderdale  5.9  7.4 9.1

Newton 7.1  8.1 9.8

Scott   5.4 6.0   6.6

Noxubee 10.0  10.5   14.5

Winston   7.5 8.6  10.5

Attala 7.5 8.0 10.2

Mississippi’s not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July 2021 was 6.7%, decreasing nine-tenths of a percentage point over the month. The number of unemployed decreased 11,000 over the month, while the employed total increased 14,700 from the prior month. The Nation’s not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July 2021 at 5.7% decreased four-tenths of a percentage point over the month and 4.8 percentage points over the year.

Mississippi’s nonfarm employment decreased 4,600 over the month but was 44,900 higher than one year ago. The government sector registered the largest monthly employment loss, followed by the professional & business services sector.

For the month of July 2021, 28 counties in Mississippi posted unemployment rates less than the state’s rate of 6.7%. Rankin County posted the lowest unemployment rate for the month of July at 4.5% followed by Union County at 4.9%. Jefferson County had the highest unemployment rate for July at 19.7% followed by Wilkinson County at 15.5%.