The overall state average rose from 9.3 to 9.4 percent from February to March, while Lincoln County's average rose from 9.4 percent to 9.7 percent in that same time. But the trend was statewide, Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Cliff Brumfield said.

"Considering how some other areas of the state that are perceived as successful such as Lowndes County and other places that have realized strong industrial gains in recent years, it still points to the number one reason for the increase in unemployment," said Brumfield. "And that is the economy."

Lowndes County, which has in recent years received quite a bit of industrial growth, had an unemployment rate for March of 10.3 percent, which is up from last month's 10.1 percent. Four of the six counties surrounding Lincoln recorded numbers lower than those for March.

Copiah County is up 0.1 percent, rising from February's 9.4 percent to 9.5 percent for March. Lawrence County is up from 9.8 in February to 10.1 percent in March, while Walthall jumped from 8.5 percent to 9.3 percent.

Pike County dropped a tenth of a percentage from 9.0 percent in February to 8.9 percent in March.

Meanwhile, Amite County's average rose from February's 10.8 percent to March's 10.9, and Franklin County recorded a 0.4 percent increase from 10.7 to 11.1 percent.

Jefferson County, which had a whopping 18.6 percent unemployment rate in February, was down in March, with a 17.7 percent average.

Brumfield said the fact that Lincoln County is usually ranked between 32 and 35 on the list of the state's 82 counties is an indicator of the area's stable job market. While the fluctuations of the economy may affect it somewhat, it isn't losing inordinately more jobs than other counties.

"Our numbers for March fall in line with our placement in the state for March of 2008," he said. "It's just unfortunately increased due to the economy and seasonal issues."

But with a slight upturn in sales tax recently, meaning more people are spending money in Lincoln County, Brumfield said there's always hope on the horizon.

"Recent news of slightly improved retail activity along with better news of increasing financial activity points to hope for more optimistic reports in upcoming months," he said.

Statewide, the March 2009 rate of 9.4 percent is much higher than March 2008, when the state average was 6.1 percent, according to Mississippi Department of Employment Security statistics. Twenty-nine counties posted unemployment rates lower than the state average, with Lamar and Rankin counties posting the lowest at 6 percent.