Warren County’s jobless rate dropped by 1.4 percentage points in July, mirroring a drop of almost the same amount in the statewide rate.

The Mississippi Employment Security Commission said the unemployment rate in the county was 5.1 percent in July, compared to a 6.5 percent rate in June. The state rate dropped from 6.9 percent in June to 5.9 percent in July.

“The whole state dropped like a rock, and most counties dropped,” said Joan Barry of the MESC office in Jackson.

She said the high June number reflected a large number of people entering the job hunt with high school and college students looking for summer jobs and college graduates looking for permanent employment.

The 5.1 percent figure in July is more reflective of a return to more normal conditions, Barry said.

She also said employment officials across the nation noticed an increase in the number of young people looking for jobs this year.

“This year nationally, more kids are working than since 1969,” Barry said.

Nationally, the jobless rate remained at 4.2 percent. In area counties, the rates were 12.1 percent in Issaquena, 10.1 in Sharkey, 13 in Yazoo, 5 in Hinds and 11.3 in Claiborne.

MESC Executive Director Thomas E. Lord said the number of people employed rose by 12,700 workers while 14,600 fewer people were out of work.

Total employment for July was 1,260,400, and 78,600 were without work.

DeSoto County, at 2.7 percent, had the lowest unemployment rate, while Jefferson County had the highest, at 19.9 percent.

Warren County’s 5.1 percent rate placed it at 22nd in the state and tied it with Tunica, which was listed as No. 23.