Unemployment rate relatively low' for Lauderdale County

By By Fredie Carmichael / staff writer
March 8, 2002
Lauderdale County's unemployment rate rose slightly in January to 5.5 percent, but still has one of the lowest rates in Mississippi.
Statistics released Thursday by the Mississippi Employment Security Commission show that unemployment in Lauderdale County jumped from 4.9 percent in December.
Statewide, statistics show that unemployment rose 1 percent from 5.9 percent in December to 6.9 percent in January.
In surrounding counties, Clarke County's rate fell more than 3 percent from 13.2 in December to 10.1 in January. Experts expect the rate to increase after Stonewall's Burlington plant closes in April.
Clarke County Supervisor Paul Mosley, who represents District 4, said he's happy to see unemployment fall in January.
Clarke County supervisors visited Washington last weekend to meet with U.S. Reps. Chip Pickering, the 3rd District Republican, and Gene Taylor, the 5th District Democrat, about Burlington.
Curt Thomson, executive director of the Mississippi Employment Security Commission, said he hopes to see a rebound in state unemployment rates in February.
Those statistics could be released late this month or in early April.