Alcorn jobless at 3 percent

Prentiss County ranked seventh with a rate of 2.8 percent; Tippah, ninth, with a rate of 2.9 percent; and Tishomingo, 35th, with a rate of 3.6 percent. Tishomingo County is up modestly from 3.1 percent a year earlier.

Alcorn County had 470 counted as unemployed for the month, little changed from 450 a year earlier. The number of claims for unemployment insurance ticked up a bit during December – 62 new claims and 182 continued claims, compared to 40 new claims and 102 continued claims a year earlier.

Regular benefits paid out in the county totaled $27,882, rising from $11,340 a year earlier.

Mississippi unemployment was 4 percent for the month, down from 4.7 percent over the year in seasonally adjusted data, with non-farm jobs increasing by 500 over the year.

Across the state, Lafayette County had the lowest rate at 2.4 percent. Jefferson County was highest at 11.7 percent.

Unemployment rates were higher in December in seven states, lower in five states and stable in 38 states and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Thirty-five states and the District had jobless rate decreases from a year earlier; four states had increases; and 11 states had little change. The national unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent over the month and was 0.4 percentage point lower than in December 2021.

Over the year, non-farm payroll employment increased in 42 states and was essentially unchanged in eight states and the District.