By David Howell

Although most economists agree that the global recession peaked in 2009, declining jobs in 2010 remained in the national headlines and Panola County was no exception.

The good news is that the jobless rate in Panola County peaked in January, when 15.4 percent of the county’s workers were jobless. The bad news is that unemployment rate throughout the year remained high, with each month recording double-digit percentages.

The latest statistics, released last week by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, reported that 1,850  people in the county were unemployed in November, pushing the jobless rate down to 12.5 percent. That’s two-tenths of a percent lower that a year ago, when 12.7 percent of Panola’s eligible workers were unemployed.

Mississippi’s unemployment rate for November was 9.8 percent, an increase of one-tenth of a percentage point from October’s rate of 9.7 percent. When compared to the November 2009 rate of 9.6 percent, the rate increased two tenths of a percentage point.

The number of unemployed increased 1,500 over the month, while the employed total increased 3,100 from the prior month.

The nation’s unemployment rate for November  at 9.3 percent was up three-tenths of a percentage point over the month, but was down one-tenth of a percentage point from the year-ago-rate of 9.4 percent.

For the month of November, only eighteen counties in Mississippi posted unemployment rates less than or equal to the state’s rate of 9.8 percent.

Rankin County posted the lowest unemployment rate for the month of November at 6.3 percent. Six counties reported rates greater than 15.0 percent.

Noxubee County had the highest unemployment rate for November at 19.8.