Lincoln County’s unemployment rate for December was on par with the rest of the state, and below the national average.

At 3.6%, the county was only one-tenth of a percentage away from the state average of 3.5%, and both were below the 3.8% national rate.

Lincoln County reported 14,940 people in its labor force for the final month of 2024, with 14,400 employed; 540 people said they were looking for work, but unable to find employment.

Statewide, 45,000 people were unemployed from a total of 1,286,200 available workers. Across the U.S., 6.452 million were unemployed out of 167,746,000 workers.

One month prior in November, Lincoln County had 450 unemployed from a slightly smaller workforce of 14,790, or 3.1% unemployment. A year earlier in December 2023, the county had 410 out of work from a labor force of 14,290 — 2.9% unemployment.

Counties bordering Lincoln had the following unemployment rates for December 2024: Copiah, 3.9; Amite, 4.2; Lawrence and Pike, 4.3; Walthall, 4.4; Franklin, 5.1; and Jefferson, 13.3. Jefferson had the highest jobless rate in the state, representing 250 people unemployed from a total of 1,850 in the workforce.

The counties with the lowest percentages of unemployed persons were Lafayette and Union, at 2.5% each. In Lafayette, 720 of 29,400 were without work; in Union, it was 380 out of 15,320.

The fewest number of people unemployed in a single county were found in Issaquena County — just 20 people. However, with a total labor pool of only 310 people, the unemployment percentage was 5.5%.

The largest workforce is found in Mississippi’s most populous county — Hinds, with 105,590 available to work. Though its unemployment percentage is only 3.4, that represents 3,570 individuals.

A person is defined as “employed” if they did any work for pay or profit during the week surveyed, including part-time, temporary and full-time. Unemployed persons were those who did not have a job, had actively looked for work during the previous four weeks, and were currently available for work. These two groups together comprise the labor force.

Lincoln County’s WIN Job Center is located at 1377 Johnny Johnson Drive, Brookhaven. The office is open Monday-Tuesday, Thursday-Friday 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., and 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Wednesday.