By Rita Howell
Panola County’s unemployment rate has hit its lowest point in 16 years, according to the latest report of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.
The county’s jobless rate continued its recent decline, dropping another nine-tenths of a percentage point, from 7 percent in March to 6.1 percent in April,  according to the report released by the MDES last week.
It was the lowest rate since April, 2000, when the county’s jobless percentage was 5.7.
The state’s overall jobless rate for April, 2016  was 5 percent, while the national rate was 4.7.
Panola ranks 54th among the state’s 82 counties, with Rankin remaining at the top of the list with 3.4 percent unemployment, and Jefferson at the bottom, with 14.4.
In comparison with the surrounding counties, in April Panola ranked lower than Tate (5.2), Lafayette (4.0), Yalobusha (4.9), Tallahatchie (5.5) and Tunica (5.6). Only Quitman County had a higher unemployment rate, 8.2.