Past predictions about a summer increase in the unemployment rate proved true, with the jobless rate increasing for the first time this year.

Reports from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security for the month of May placed the unemployment rate for Lincoln County at 6.6, lower than Mississippi’s rate of 7 percent. Lincoln County’s rate has seen an increase of 1.4 percentage points since the beginning of 2015.

The rise follows a trend that goes back several years when rates go up between the months of May and September.

In an interview last month about April’s unemployment rate, Brookhaven/Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Garrick Combs said the rise during summer months is mostly likely due to the amount of work-age students, teachers and professors who are off from school and are seeking work during the summer months. This surge of people actively seeking employment increases the unemployment rate.

In past years, the rate decreases between August and October, returning to rates as low as, if not lower than, the ones in the beginning of that year.

Despite its rise, May’s rate is still lower than the May 2014 rate.

“Our unemployment rate is a sign to employers that we are putting people to work,” Combs said.

He said again that the unemployment rate is a small factor when a company is deciding if a city is the right fit, but it still tells a story.

“It tells you how you are doing in a growing and vibrant economy,” Combs said.

He uses Madison and Rankin counties as examples of low unemployment rates and companies investing in them. He said that is a characteristic of a county operating inside a period of growth.

Information about the rates for each state and county can be found at the MDES website at www.mdes.ms.gov.