Unemployment rates are rising across U.S. metropolitan areas, provoking alarm across the nation and likely leading to interest rate cuts in September.

As of July, unemployment rates increased in 350 out of 389 U.S. metros areas —including 47 of the 51 largest metros, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

To get a glimpse of regional variations in employment, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in Mississippi, using BLS data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in July 2024, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.

The national unemployment rate remains relatively low at 4.3% . Still, it’s up substantially from 3.5% during the same month last year and has climbed to the highest rate since November 2021. By comparison, unemployment rates surged to 10% in October 2009 during the Great Recession, and a full recovery took years. At the height of the brief COVID-19 recession in April 2020, unemployment hit 14.7%.

The Federal Reserve has shifted its focus from curbing inflation to unemployment, indicating plans to cut interest rates in the coming weeks and months to alleviate economic strain and avoid further job losses.

Since last year, unemployment has spiked in over half of states—a signal often indicating a looming recession, as Piper Sandler Chief Global Economist Nancy Lazar told Business Insider . These jobless rates, paired with layoffs among major U.S. employers like Google and Tesla, have sparked concern among Americans. Minus a major economic blow, economists continue to forecast that the U.S. is tracking toward an incremental slowdown in growth known as a “ soft landing .”

To get a better idea of your community’s current economy, read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in Mississippi.

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#50. Tate County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
— 1-month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.5 percentage points
– Total labor force: 11,932 people (407 unemployed)

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#49. Lincoln County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
— 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.5 percentage points
– Total labor force: 14,722 people (502 unemployed)

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#48. Lauderdale County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
— 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.5 percentage points
– Total labor force: 28,505 people (967 unemployed)

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#47. Warren County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
— 1-month change: Down 0.6 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.7 percentage points
– Total labor force: 19,136 people (670 unemployed)

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#46. Lowndes County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
— 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.5 percentage points
– Total labor force: 24,729 people (859 unemployed)

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#45. Benton County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
— 1-month change: Down 0.6 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.8 percentage points
– Total labor force: 2,971 people (106 unemployed)

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#44. Attala County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
— 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.9 percentage points
– Total labor force: 6,911 people (251 unemployed)

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#43. Stone County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
— 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.7 percentage points
– Total labor force: 7,176 people (260 unemployed)

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#42. Newton County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
— 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 1.0 percentage points
– Total labor force: 7,785 people (279 unemployed)

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#41. Neshoba County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
— 1-month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.6 percentage points
– Total labor force: 10,352 people (372 unemployed)

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#40. Yalobusha County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
— 1-month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.5 percentage points
– Total labor force: 4,723 people (175 unemployed)

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#39. Winston County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
— 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.8 percentage points
– Total labor force: 7,351 people (270 unemployed)

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#38. Yazoo County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
— 1-month change: Down 0.6 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.7 percentage points
– Total labor force: 9,078 people (340 unemployed)

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#37. Marshall County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
— 1-month change: Down 0.6 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.6 percentage points
– Total labor force: 13,935 people (521 unemployed)

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#36. Greene County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
— 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 1.5 percentage points
– Total labor force: 4,414 people (169 unemployed)

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#35. Jasper County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
— 1-month change: Down 0.6 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.6 percentage points
– Total labor force: 5,989 people (228 unemployed)

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#34. Wayne County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
— 1-month change: Down 0.7 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.7 percentage points
– Total labor force: 7,244 people (275 unemployed)

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#33. Copiah County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
— 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.4 percentage points
– Total labor force: 11,042 people (419 unemployed)

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#32. Perry County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
— 1-month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.9 percentage points
– Total labor force: 4,288 people (166 unemployed)

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#31. Lawrence County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
— 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 1.0 percentage points
– Total labor force: 4,855 people (191 unemployed)

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#30. Clarke County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
— 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.5 percentage points
– Total labor force: 5,526 people (217 unemployed)

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#29. Bolivar County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
— 1-month change: Down 0.6 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 1.0 percentage points
– Total labor force: 11,609 people (452 unemployed)

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#28. Monroe County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
— 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.8 percentage points
– Total labor force: 14,583 people (566 unemployed)

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#27. Oktibbeha County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
— 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.4 percentage points
– Total labor force: 21,805 people (853 unemployed)

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#26. Tunica County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.0%
— 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
— 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
– Total labor force: 4,155 people (165 unemployed)

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#25. Amite County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.0%
— 1-month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.8 percentage points
– Total labor force: 4,310 people (173 unemployed)

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#24. Carroll County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.1%
— 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
– Total labor force: 3,146 people (128 unemployed)

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#23. Walthall County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.1%
— 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 1.1 percentage points
– Total labor force: 4,878 people (199 unemployed)

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#22. Clay County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.1%
— 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
– Total labor force: 9,540 people (391 unemployed)

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#21. Panola County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.2%
— 1-month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.4 percentage points
– Total labor force: 12,413 people (519 unemployed)

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#20. Pike County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.2%
— 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.9 percentage points
– Total labor force: 13,992 people (591 unemployed)

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#19. George County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
— 1-month change: Down 0.6 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.6 percentage points
– Total labor force: 9,109 people (395 unemployed)

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#18. Franklin County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
— 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.8 percentage points
– Total labor force: 2,694 people (118 unemployed)

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#17. Chickasaw County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
— 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.9 percentage points
– Total labor force: 6,112 people (267 unemployed)

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#16. Jefferson Davis County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
— 1-month change: Down 1.1 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.5 percentage points
– Total labor force: 3,953 people (179 unemployed)

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#15. Adams County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
— 1-month change: Down 0.6 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.7 percentage points
– Total labor force: 10,566 people (484 unemployed)

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#14. Kemper County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
— 1-month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.7 percentage points
– Total labor force: 3,245 people (151 unemployed)

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#13. Sunflower County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
— 1-month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.5 percentage points
– Total labor force: 7,943 people (384 unemployed)

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#12. Quitman County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.0%
— 1-month change: Down 0.6 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.4 percentage points
– Total labor force: 2,355 people (118 unemployed)

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#11. Leflore County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
— 1-month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.8 percentage points
– Total labor force: 8,866 people (454 unemployed)

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#10. Wilkinson County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
— 1-month change: Down 0.9 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 1.9 percentage points
– Total labor force: 2,524 people (132 unemployed)

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#9. Noxubee County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
— 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.6 percentage points
– Total labor force: 3,441 people (178 unemployed)

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#8. Washington County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
— 1-month change: Down 0.8 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.6 percentage points
– Total labor force: 14,511 people (755 unemployed)

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#7. Coahoma County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.5%
— 1-month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
– Total labor force: 7,467 people (412 unemployed)

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#6. Sharkey County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.7%
— 1-month change: Down 0.7 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 1.3 percentage points
– Total labor force: 1,203 people (69 unemployed)

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SevenMaps // Shutterstock

#5. Holmes County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.1%
— 1-month change: Down 0.6 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 1.0 percentage points
– Total labor force: 5,123 people (310 unemployed)

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#4. Issaquena County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.4%
— 1-month change: Down 2.1 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 2.1 percentage points
– Total labor force: 314 people (20 unemployed)

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#3. Humphreys County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.6%
— 1-month change: Down 0.7 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
– Total labor force: 2,048 people (155 unemployed)

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#2. Claiborne County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.7%
— 1-month change: Down 0.7 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 1.3 percentage points
– Total labor force: 2,922 people (254 unemployed)

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#1. Jefferson County

– July unemployment rate (preliminary): 13.0%
— 1-month change: Down 1.9 percentage points
— 1-year change: Down 2.8 percentage points
– Total labor force: 1,867 people (242 unemployed)

This story features data reporting and writing by Paxtyn Merten and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.

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