A month after flooding disrupted the economy along the Mississippi River, Mississippi's employment picture improved slightly in June even though the state had 1,700 fewer non-farm jobs than a year ago.
The Department of Employment Security said Wednesday that 2,300 jobs vanished from May to June. The figures are not adjusted for seasonal factors and include the temporary end of school-related jobs.
But overall job growth on an annual basis is slowing in the state.
Following flooding of the Mississippi River, the state posted a loss of 4,000 jobs in the May-to-May comparison. The April-to-April comparison showed a gain 6,600 jobs, while the March-to-March count was up by 9,200 jobs.
All of the growth is in the private sector. Over the past 12 months, Mississippi has dropped 9,200 government jobs, while adding 7,500 in the private sector.
Goods-producing employment continues to lag in Mississippi with the job count down by 2,500 in manufacturing. Private service-providing employment has grown by 10,000 jobs.
Over the past 12 months, the biggest gainers have been professional-business services with 3,500 jobs, leisure-hospitality with 3,000 jobs and trade, transportation and utilities with 2,200 jobs. The sector of private education and health services has added 1,200 jobs.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, Mississippi's unemployment rate in June was 10.3 percent, unchanged from May.
