Mississippi Economic Update
January 17th, 2014
As the 2014 Legislative Session continues, I wanted to take a moment and give you an update on where Mississippi’s economy stands. MEPC recently attended a legislative economic briefing given by the State Economist, Darrin Webb. Dr. Webb’s message signaled that while Mississippi’s economy grew last year, and will continue to become stronger, the growth will continue to be at a slow pace. Additionally, even though Mississippi has seen high job growth, the jobs have not meant higher incomes for Mississippians. With the state still recovering from the recession from a jobs perspective, I wanted to share key points from the presentation while providing a bit of analysis as to what it means for Mississippi.
1. Mississippi’s economy grew by 1.8%
As the nation’s economy grows, Mississippi’s economy is likely to grow as well. While growth in the Mississippi economy is not likely to outpace that of the nation, it is moving in the right direction.
2. Mississippi gained 18,818 jobs in 2013
This is a 1.6% increase over 2012 and the highest employment growth since 1999. County wise, the job distribution was pretty evenly divided between those that declined, those that added less than 150 jobs, and those that added more than 150.
3. Mississippi still regaining jobs lost during recession
The state has now regained approximately 32,000 of the 77,000 lost during the recession. The state should attain the pre-recession peak in 2015.
4. Mississippi gained predominantly low-skill, low-pay jobs
Approximately 85% of the gained jobs were in low-skill, low-wage employment. Most of the growth came from the “Professional Services” area, which is known to have a majority of temporary jobs.
5. Mississippi families continue to have low-income levels
The state continues to rank last for both per capita income and median household income. Due in part to the flattening of job growth in the manufacturing sector and the increase in jobs within low-skill, low-pay areas, Mississippi’s economy faces an uphill battle to raise income levels.
Improving on the low income levels will take a concerted effort to improve the quality of jobs Mississippi attracts. In order to do this, however, Mississippi will need to invest more heavily in education at all levels through increased need-based financial aid and fully funding MAEP. Investments in the health care infrastructure will also create more opportunities for high wage jobs. Investing in these basic building blocks of the economy are the types of investments that create long-lasting, equitable growth for all Mississippians.
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