Mississippi jobless rate level in April as payrolls tick up

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi's job market sent mixed signals in April, with unemployment flat and employer payrolls ticking up slightly.

The state's jobless rate was 4.9% in April, level with March. Mississippi's April 2018 jobless rate was 4.8%

The number of people looking for jobs and reporting having a job both continued falling, furthering a trend in recent months. The number of unemployed people in Mississippi rose slightly, to almost 63,000.

The number of Mississippians on payrolls — economists' top labor market indicator — rose slightly in April to 1.16 million. Payrolls were more than 11,000 above April 2018's 1.15 million.

April's U.S. unemployment rate fell to 3.6% from 3.8% in March. That's the lowest nationwide rate since 1969.

Mississippi's Department of Employment Security released figures Tuesday, adjusted to cancel out seasonal changes.