Four percent increase in Bolivar County during the past five years

Since 2006, the unemployment rate across the Delta — including Bolivar County — has consistently increased. Five years ago the unemployment rate in Bolivar County was 6.8 percent. The October rate rose to 10.9 percent this year. In 2007 it remained at 6.8 percent then started to increase in 2008 to 7.9 followed by 10.0 in 2009 and 10.1 percent in 2010.

The Delta area five-year look begins at 7.4 percent in 2007, 7.2 percent in 2008, 8.7 in 2009, 12.8 percent in 2010 and a whopping 13.1 percent in 2011. The percentage for the 14 county area for this year are Bolivar (10.9), Carroll (10.3), Coahoma (13.2), Holmes (17.1), Humphreys (13.9), Issaquena (12.4), Leflore (13.1), Panola (12.2), Quitman (12.3), Sharkey (10.6), Sunflower (15.2), Tallahatchie (10.2), Tunica (13.2), and Washington Counties (14.6).

For the month of October 2011, only 23 counties in Mississippi posted unemployment rates less than or equal to the state’s rate of 10.2 percent. Rankin County posted the lowest unemployment rate for the month of October at 6.6 percent followed by Madison County at 7.2 percent and DeSoto County at 7.3 percent. Bolivar County, 10.9, came in at 33 out of the 82 state counties. Six counties reported rates greater than 15.0 percent. Clay County had the highest unemployment rate for October at 19.1 percent followed by Holmes County at 17.1 percent.

In October of 2011, Bolivar County’s labor force consisted of 16,000 persons 16-years-old and older, but only 14,260 had jobs with nearly 11 percent or 1,740 persons out of work. The state’s overall numbers includes of a workforce numbering 1,354,400 with 1,215,700 employed and 138,700 out of work or just over 10 percent of the workforce. For the entire U.S., 154,022,000 make up the workforce with 140,502,000 having jobs leaving 13,520,000 unemployed or 8.8 percent of the workforce.

In 2010, there were 153,652,000 persons in the workforce of which 139,749,000 have jobs leaving 13,903,000 or nine percent of the workforce unemployed. These numbers are all from October 2011.

October 2011 numbers for the entire Delta are higher than Bolivar County’s. Of the 123,990 workers in the 14 counties only 107,770 are employed leaving 16,220 out of work or just over 13 percent of the workforce is unemployed. In October of 2010, there were 121,790 in the workforce with 106,730 working and 15,060 unemployed or 12.4 percent of the workforce.

For the entire state there were 12,075 initial unemployment claims in October 2011 compared to 10,480 in September and 12,656 for October of 2010. There were 128,959 continue claims in October of 2011, 110,069 in September of 2011 and 143,728 in October of 2010. More than $16 million was paid in benefits in October, $14.7 million in September compared to the $16.7 million paid in October of 2010. Average weekly benefit checks were $180.77 in October, $180.43 in September and $177.91 in October of 2010.