Lamar County vs. Mississippi
Comparative Trends Analysis:
Total Employment Growth and Change, 1969-2022
Introduction
Lamar County vs. Mississippi
Lamar County:
2022 Jobs = 32,978
2022 Percent of State = 1.97%
Mississippi:
2022 Jobs = 1,674,142
2022 Percent of U.S. = 0.79%
Employment numbers remain the most popular and frequently cited statistics used for tracking local area economic conditions and trends. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) employment estimates reported measure the number of full- and part-time wage and salary employees, plus the number of proprietors of unincorporated businesses. People holding more than one job are counted in the employment estimates for each job they hold. This means BEA employment estimates represent a job count, not a people count. Also, BEA employment is by place-of-work, rather than by place-of-residence. Jobs held by neighboring county residents who commute to Lamar County to work are included in the employment count for Lamar County.
Data Definition:
The BEA employment series for states and local areas comprises estimates of the number of jobs, full-time plus part-time, by place of work. Full-time and part-time jobs are counted at equal weight. Employees, sole proprietors, and active partners are included, but unpaid family workers and volunteers are not included. Proprietors employment consists of the number of sole proprietorships and the number of partners in partnerships. The description "by place of work" applies to the wage and salary portion of the series and, with relatively little error, to the entire series. The proprietors employment portion of the series, however, is more nearly by place of residence because, for nonfarm sole proprietorships, the estimates are based on IRS tax data that reflect the address from which the proprietor's individual tax return is filed, which is usually the proprietor's residence. The nonfarm partnership portion of the proprietors employment series reflects the tax-filing address of the partnership, which may be either the residence of one of the partners or the business address of the partnership. The employment estimates are designed to be consistent with the estimates of wages and salaries and proprietors' income that are part of the personal income series. The employment estimates are based on the same sets of source data as the corresponding earnings estimates and are prepared with parallel methodologies. Two forms of proprietors' income-the income of limited partnerships and the income of tax-exempt cooperatives-have no corresponding employment estimates.
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Figure 1.
Figure 1 traces Lamar County's annual total employment for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate total employment patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Lamar County's total employment rose from 3,747 in 1969 to 32,978 in 2022, for a net gain of 29,231, or 780.12%.
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Figure 2.
Figure 2 tracks Mississippi's annual total employment for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate total employment patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Mississippi's total employment rose from 908,677 in 1969 to 1,674,142 in 2022, for a net gain of 765,465, or 84.24%.
Total Employment Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022
Total Employment Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022
Figure 3.
Figure 3 shows Lamar County's total employment growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Mississippi, the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's total employment in 1969 as a base figure of 100, and the total employments in later years as a percentage of the 1969 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in total employment growth between regions that may differ vastly in size.
Lamar County's overall total employment growth was 780.12% over 1969-2022 outpaced Mississippi's increase of 84.24%, and topped the United States' increase of 133.32%.
Total Employment as a Percent of the Mississippi Total: 1969-2022
Total Employment as a Percent of the Mississippi Total: 1969-2022
Figure 4.
Another interesting and insightful way of comparing the total employment growth of Lamar County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to Mississippi's statewide total employment over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's total employment grew faster, or declined less, than Mississippi's total employment, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly.
In 1969, Lamar County's total employment comprised 0.41% of Mississippi's total employment, while in 2022 it comprised 1.97% thereby yielding a +1.56% share-shift.
   
 
Total Employment Share-Shift
2022 vs. 1969
 
Share-
Shift*
 
2022
vs.
1969
+1.56%
=
1.97%
-
0.41%
 
   
Lamar County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022
Lamar County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022
Figure 5.
Figure 5 highlights the short-run pattern of Lamar County's total employment growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2022. The average annual percent change for the entire 53-year period is also illustrated on this chart to provide a benchmark for gauging periods of relative high--and relative low--growth against the backdrop of the long-term average.
On average, Lamar County's total employment grew at an annual rate of 4.28% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 2006 (14.27%) and posted its lowest growth in 2016 (-4.15%). In 2022, Lamar County's total employment grew by 3.95%
Lamar County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022
Lamar County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022
Figure 6.
Over the past five decades some counties have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again illustrates the annual percent change in Lamar County's total employment since 1970, but this time they are overlayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2022.
During the 1970s, Lamar County's annual total employment growth rate averaged 4.02%. It averaged 5.32% in the 1980s, 6.76% during the 1990s, 4.54% throughout the 2000s, 1.08% throughout the 2010s, 3.16% thus far this decade (2020-2022).
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change by Decade
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change by Decade
Figure 7.
Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Lamar County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Mississippi and the nation. As the chart reveals, Lamar County's average annual total employment growth led Mississippi's average throughout the 1970s (4.02% vs. 2.08%), recorded above Mississippi's average throughout the 1980s (5.32% vs. 0.66%), topped Mississippi's average during the 1990s (6.76% vs. 2.15%), registered above Mississippi's average in the 2000s (4.54% vs. 0.16%), outperformed Mississippi's average during the 2010s (1.08% vs. 0.75%), and outperformed Mississippi's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (3.16% vs. 1.40%).
Finally, relative to nationwide total employment growth trends, Lamar County surpassed the nation throughout the 1970s (4.02% vs. 2.21%), led the nation in the 1980s (5.32% vs. 1.88%), topped the nation over the 1990s (6.76% vs. 1.73%), outperformed the nation during the 2000s (4.54% vs. 0.74%), fell under the nation in the 2010s (1.08% vs. 1.51%), and outpaced the nation over 2020-2022 (3.16% vs. 1.82%).
   
 
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change
 
 
 
4.28
4.02
5.32
6.76
4.54
1.08
3.16
3.95
 
1.17
2.08
0.66
2.15
0.16
0.75
1.40
2.98
 
1.62
2.21
1.88
1.73
0.74
1.51
1.82
4.78
 
   
Job Ratios (Employment/Population): 1969-2022
Job Ratios (Employment/Population): 1969-2022
Figure 8.
The job ratios shown in Figure 8 for Lamar County, Mississippi and the nation not only portray a number of important trends, they also serves as a thumbnail guide to evaluating an economy's capacity to generate enough jobs fast enough to absorb the increasing number of workers attendant to a growing population. The job ratio is the number of full-time and part-time jobs by place of work, divided by population.
Nationally, the job ratio rose from 0.45 to 0.64 between 1969 and 2022. Lamar County's job ratio registered 0.25 in 1969, and 0.50 in 2022. Underlying the rising job ratio over the past several decades have been the increases in the labor force participation rates, with the number and proportion of women in the labor market playing a leading role.
An assortment of other factors can contribute to regional differences in the job ratio. They include differences in the proportion of elderly and retirees who no longer work and participate in the labor force, differences in the number and proportion of part-time vs. full-time workers, differences in industry composition, and differences in age and sex distribution and degree of urbanization. Also, a disproportionate number of workers commuting to work outside a county tends to lower its local county job ratio, while a net inflow of workers commuting to work inside the county tends to augment its local county job ratio.
Avoid interpreting the job ratio as the fraction (or percent) of the local population employed. This interpretation should only apply to the "employment-population ratio" statistic compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from the Current Population Survey (CPS).
Job Ratios (Employment/Population)
as a Percent of the U.S. Average:
1969-2022
Job Ratios (Employment/Population)
as a Percent of the U.S. Average:
1969-2022
Figure 9.
To highlight trends in a local job ratio relative to nationwide trends, Figure 9 tracks Lamar County's, Mississippi's job ratio as a percent of the national job ratio over 1969-2022.

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
Lamar County:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
3,747
100.0
N
0.41
0.25
54.75
1970
 
3,938
105.1
5.10
0.43
0.26
57.50
1971
 
4,237
113.1
7.59
0.45
0.26
59.70
1972
 
4,483
119.6
5.81
0.46
0.26
57.58
1973
 
4,693
125.2
4.68
0.46
0.26
56.16
1974
 
4,833
129.0
2.98
0.47
0.25
53.97
1975
 
4,664
124.5
-3.50
0.47
0.24
51.41
1976
 
4,838
129.1
3.73
0.47
0.24
51.59
1977
 
5,343
142.6
10.44
0.50
0.25
52.47
1978
 
5,465
145.9
2.28
0.50
0.25
50.39
1979
 
5,523
147.4
1.06
0.50
0.24
47.40
1980
 
5,454
145.6
-1.25
0.49
0.23
45.03
1981
 
5,788
154.5
6.12
0.52
0.23
45.50
1982
 
6,095
162.7
5.30
0.56
0.23
47.51
1983
 
6,436
171.8
5.59
0.59
0.24
48.88
1984
 
7,111
189.8
10.49
0.64
0.26
51.30
1985
 
7,526
200.9
5.84
0.67
0.27
51.58
1986
 
8,077
215.6
7.32
0.71
0.28
53.73
1987
 
8,690
231.9
7.59
0.76
0.30
55.66
1988
 
8,415
224.6
-3.16
0.72
0.29
52.68
1989
 
9,201
245.6
9.34
0.77
0.31
55.46
1990
 
9,490
253.3
3.14
0.79
0.31
56.18
1991
 
10,248
273.5
7.99
0.85
0.33
61.15
1992
 
10,421
278.1
1.69
0.84
0.34
62.22
1993
 
11,100
296.2
6.52
0.86
0.35
64.07
1994
 
12,655
337.7
14.01
0.95
0.39
70.69
1995
 
14,116
376.7
11.54
1.03
0.42
75.51
1996
 
15,467
412.8
9.57
1.11
0.45
79.41
1997
 
16,529
441.1
6.87
1.17
0.46
81.31
1998
 
17,505
467.2
5.90
1.21
0.47
82.20
1999
 
17,577
469.1
0.41
1.20
0.46
79.41
2000
 
17,513
467.4
-0.36
1.19
0.44
74.31
2001
 
19,850
529.8
13.34
1.36
0.48
83.15
2002
 
20,248
540.4
2.01
1.39
0.48
83.24
2003
 
20,925
558.4
3.34
1.44
0.48
84.34
2004
 
21,392
570.9
2.23
1.46
0.48
82.44
2005
 
22,426
598.5
4.83
1.52
0.48
82.37
2006
 
25,627
683.9
14.27
1.70
0.52
89.01
2007
 
27,758
740.8
8.32
1.80
0.55
91.46
2008
 
27,941
745.7
0.66
1.82
0.53
89.84
2009
 
27,042
721.7
-3.22
1.81
0.50
88.15
2010
 
27,211
726.2
0.62
1.83
0.48
86.77
2011
 
27,424
731.9
0.78
1.82
0.48
84.59
2012
 
27,940
745.7
1.88
1.84
0.48
84.30
2013
 
28,613
763.6
2.41
1.87
0.48
83.86
2014
 
28,997
773.9
1.34
1.86
0.48
82.45
2015
 
29,870
797.2
3.01
1.90
0.49
82.62
2016
 
28,630
764.1
-4.15
1.81
0.46
77.97
2017
 
29,150
778.0
1.82
1.83
0.47
78.46
2018
 
29,614
790.3
1.59
1.85
0.47
77.23
2019
 
30,052
802.0
1.48
1.87
0.47
77.36
2020
 
30,327
809.4
0.92
1.93
0.47
79.96
2021
 
31,726
846.7
4.61
1.95
0.49
79.45
2022
 
32,978
880.1
3.95
1.97
0.50
78.65
Source: Calculations by the Mississippi Regional Economic Analysis Project (MS-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PSN
 
   

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
Mississippi:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
908,677
100.0
N
1.00
0.41
90.49
1970
 
916,796
100.9
0.89
1.00
0.41
92.16
1971
 
938,968
103.3
2.42
1.03
0.41
93.60
1972
 
978,740
107.7
4.24
1.04
0.42
94.13
1973
 
1,019,427
112.2
4.16
1.04
0.43
93.16
1974
 
1,031,293
113.5
1.16
1.03
0.43
92.39
1975
 
1,000,814
110.1
-2.96
1.01
0.42
90.85
1976
 
1,038,827
114.3
3.80
1.02
0.43
91.54
1977
 
1,070,753
117.8
3.07
1.02
0.44
91.07
1978
 
1,100,550
121.1
2.78
1.00
0.44
89.57
1979
 
1,114,375
122.6
1.26
0.98
0.44
88.19
1980
 
1,111,313
122.3
-0.27
0.97
0.44
87.73
1981
 
1,106,596
121.8
-0.42
0.96
0.44
87.03
1982
 
1,079,218
118.8
-2.47
0.95
0.42
85.65
1983
 
1,087,581
119.7
0.77
0.94
0.42
85.63
1984
 
1,117,040
122.9
2.71
0.93
0.43
84.78
1985
 
1,123,930
123.7
0.62
0.91
0.43
83.46
1986
 
1,130,753
124.4
0.61
0.90
0.44
82.94
1987
 
1,141,343
125.6
0.94
0.88
0.44
82.46
1988
 
1,169,037
128.7
2.43
0.88
0.45
82.93
1989
 
1,188,891
130.8
1.70
0.87
0.46
83.71
1990
 
1,202,603
132.3
1.15
0.87
0.47
84.15
1991
 
1,210,948
133.3
0.69
0.88
0.47
85.66
1992
 
1,233,701
135.8
1.88
0.89
0.47
87.30
1993
 
1,286,919
141.6
4.31
0.91
0.48
89.49
1994
 
1,334,700
146.9
3.71
0.93
0.50
90.57
1995
 
1,365,437
150.3
2.30
0.92
0.50
90.28
1996
 
1,389,237
152.9
1.74
0.92
0.51
90.16
1997
 
1,415,330
155.8
1.88
0.92
0.51
89.92
1998
 
1,445,429
159.1
2.13
0.91
0.52
89.70
1999
 
1,469,707
161.7
1.68
0.91
0.52
89.76
2000
 
1,476,295
162.5
0.45
0.89
0.52
88.43
2001
 
1,455,992
160.2
-1.38
0.88
0.51
87.86
2002
 
1,454,782
160.1
-0.08
0.88
0.51
88.66
2003
 
1,452,910
159.9
-0.13
0.88
0.51
88.57
2004
 
1,463,650
161.1
0.74
0.87
0.51
87.86
2005
 
1,473,724
162.2
0.69
0.86
0.51
86.96
2006
 
1,508,313
166.0
2.35
0.86
0.52
88.09
2007
 
1,538,835
169.3
2.02
0.86
0.53
88.17
2008
 
1,537,448
169.2
-0.09
0.86
0.52
88.50
2009
 
1,492,328
164.2
-2.93
0.86
0.50
89.11
2010
 
1,490,777
164.1
-0.10
0.86
0.50
89.80
2011
 
1,509,966
166.2
1.29
0.86
0.51
89.80
2012
 
1,519,741
167.2
0.65
0.85
0.51
89.50
2013
 
1,532,509
168.7
0.84
0.84
0.51
89.14
2014
 
1,556,854
171.3
1.59
0.84
0.52
89.33
2015
 
1,568,216
172.6
0.73
0.82
0.53
88.84
2016
 
1,581,199
174.0
0.83
0.82
0.53
88.85
2017
 
1,592,198
175.2
0.70
0.81
0.53
88.76
2018
 
1,602,929
176.4
0.67
0.80
0.54
88.39
2019
 
1,607,308
176.9
0.27
0.80
0.54
88.66
2020
 
1,573,290
173.1
-2.12
0.81
0.53
90.29
2021
 
1,625,695
178.9
3.33
0.80
0.55
90.26
2022
 
1,674,142
184.2
2.98
0.79
0.57
89.33
Source: Calculations by the Mississippi Regional Economic Analysis Project (MS-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PSN
 
   

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
United States:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
91,053,200
100.0
N
0.45
1970
 
91,277,600
100.2
0.25
0.45
1971
 
91,581,400
100.6
0.33
0.44
1972
 
94,312,200
103.6
2.98
0.45
1973
 
98,427,500
108.1
4.36
0.47
1974
 
100,111,800
109.9
1.71
0.47
1975
 
98,900,600
108.6
-1.21
0.46
1976
 
101,591,200
111.6
2.72
0.47
1977
 
105,042,200
115.4
3.40
0.48
1978
 
109,686,600
120.5
4.42
0.49
1979
 
113,147,100
124.3
3.15
0.50
1980
 
113,983,200
125.2
0.74
0.50
1981
 
114,914,000
126.2
0.82
0.50
1982
 
114,163,300
125.4
-0.65
0.49
1983
 
115,645,700
127.0
1.30
0.49
1984
 
120,528,100
132.4
4.22
0.51
1985
 
123,796,700
136.0
2.71
0.52
1986
 
126,232,300
138.6
1.97
0.53
1987
 
129,548,400
142.3
2.63
0.53
1988
 
133,563,900
146.7
3.10
0.55
1989
 
136,177,800
149.6
1.96
0.55
1990
 
138,330,900
151.9
1.58
0.55
1991
 
137,612,800
151.1
-0.52
0.54
1992
 
138,166,100
151.7
0.40
0.54
1993
 
140,774,400
154.6
1.89
0.54
1994
 
144,196,600
158.4
2.43
0.55
1995
 
147,915,800
162.4
2.58
0.56
1996
 
151,056,200
165.9
2.12
0.56
1997
 
154,541,200
169.7
2.31
0.57
1998
 
158,481,200
174.1
2.55
0.57
1999
 
161,531,300
177.4
1.92
0.58
2000
 
165,370,800
181.6
2.38
0.59
2001
 
165,522,200
181.8
0.09
0.58
2002
 
165,095,100
181.3
-0.26
0.57
2003
 
165,921,500
182.2
0.50
0.57
2004
 
168,839,700
185.4
1.76
0.58
2005
 
172,338,400
189.3
2.07
0.58
2006
 
175,868,600
193.1
2.05
0.59
2007
 
179,543,700
197.2
2.09
0.60
2008
 
179,213,900
196.8
-0.18
0.59
2009
 
173,636,700
190.7
-3.11
0.57
2010
 
172,901,700
189.9
-0.42
0.56
2011
 
176,091,700
193.4
1.84
0.56
2012
 
178,979,700
196.6
1.64
0.57
2013
 
182,328,100
200.2
1.87
0.58
2014
 
186,239,800
204.5
2.15
0.58
2015
 
190,325,800
209.0
2.19
0.59
2016
 
193,425,900
212.4
1.63
0.60
2017
 
196,394,100
215.7
1.53
0.60
2018
 
200,292,200
220.0
1.98
0.61
2019
 
201,635,200
221.4
0.67
0.61
2020
 
195,286,600
214.5
-3.15
0.59
2021
 
202,752,100
222.7
3.82
0.61
2022
 
212,442,000
233.3
4.78
0.64
Source: Calculations by the Mississippi Regional Economic Analysis Project (MS-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PN
 
   
Copyright © 2023. Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Analysis Project (PNREAP). All Rights Reserved.

Please stay tuned...
while your request is processing:

Please wait while your request is being processed...
To offer the most comprehensive set of interactive options in support of your research, MS-REAP calculates and crunches most of the data and generates the narrative and graphic analysis on demand in response to your request.
Your request will soon be available.
Just a few more seconds....Your request has been generated and is now loading the results.