Mississippi
MS unemployment rate may not indicate economic health. See why
Mississippi’s unemployment rate ticked up to 3.2% for August.
Up from the historically low 3.0% in July, Mississippi’s employment rate continues the positive trend it has been on for nearly a decade. Other than a year-long span during the pandemic, Mississippi’s unemployment rate has been on the decline from 8.7% since July of 2013.
Gov. Tate Reeves in July touted the historic 3.0% as a referendum on his time in office.
“For five months in a row, Mississippi has made history with our vibrant economy,” Reeves said of the July numbers. “More Mississippians are working, they’re making higher wages, and they’re better able to provide for their families. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about.”
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However, Millsaps College assistant professor of economics Maximillian Littlejohn said that while numbers like 3.2% are good, there is more to look at as far as Mississippi’s economy is concerned.
“The main areas to pay attention to are labor force participation and job composition trends.
“The Mississippi labor force participation rate has consistently been low and trending downward for years,” said Littlejohn, who joined the faculty of the Else School of Management in the fall of 2021. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Irvine.
The labor force participation rate for Mississippi is at 54.3%, which is the lowest it has been in more than a decade. Even during the pandemic, the labor force participation was, at times, more than a percentage point higher than it is now.
“While this could easily lead to higher unemployment rates due to a smaller labor force pool, it can also lead to low u(nemployment)-rates from the unemployed leaving the pool for reasons such as discouragement, marginal attachment and poor economic outlook (continuing unemployment claims have been falling the last couple months),” Littlejohn said. “Combining this with lower job numbers coming out of the public/manufacturing sectors and employers reporting difficulty finding qualified candidates for higher-skilled jobs, it would suggest there could be some serious skill gaps and frictions in the search/match process.”
Littlejohn said the ideal situation would be to see low unemployment rates accompanied with growing job numbers and increased labor force participation, especially for job growth among the higher skilled industries.
That would not be the case for the gig economy or leisure/hospitality where tips are critical.
“(Traditional) incomes have been falling for a couple years now with inflation, and this can contribute to not only more discouraged workers exiting the labor force, but also more taking second and third part- or full-time jobs to make ends meet,” Littlejohn said. “The country has been witnessing record-high levels of multiple job holders and I would expect this trend to continue as the Fed’s inflation fight clearly isn’t over.”
To put Mississippi’s numbers more in perspective, Littlejohn said it is important to note that when workers become discouraged, they drop out of the unemployment pool putting downward pressure on the unemployment rate. So, in Mississippi, if people aren’t even filing for unemployment, they aren’t being counted as looking for a job.
“For many of those who are employed in the labor force, they may be settling for part-time work or as an independent contractor even though they would prefer a full-time position,” Littlejohn said. “Once again, this puts downward pressure on the u-rate but would not be indicative of a vibrant, growing economy.”
Ross Reily can be reached by email at rreily@gannett.com or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on Twitter @GreenOkra1.
Mississippi
Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo ‘disrespected’ by Mississippi State football’s defensive game plan
Cam Skattebo slammed Mississippi State on the football field on Saturday night and also took another jab afterward in his postgame press conference.
The Arizona State running back, following a 30-23 Sun Devils win at Mountain America Stadium, took exception to MSU only utilizing three defenders on the line of scrimmage. The results were damning.
Arizona State (2-0) rushed for 346 yards. It was the most allowed by Mississippi State (1-1) in a game since Arkansas in 2016. Skattebo’s 262 rushing yards on 33 carries were the second-most in ASU history.
“They couldn’t stop us in that three-down front,” Skattebo said when asked what made ASU’s run game successful. “Honestly, we all felt disrespected with them in a three-down front. You can’t come in here and put five guys in the box and expect to stop six. I don’t know. We took that a little disrespectful, and we rushed for what over 300 yards? Something around there. It is what it is.”
Skattebo, a 5-foot-11, 215-pound junior, also led Arizona State with 35 receiving yards on three catches.
“I knew these dudes were big and heavy,” he said. “We knew going into the game they weren’t as physical as most other teams but they’re heavy. So when they hit you, it hurts, no matter how hard they’re coming — 300 pounds at 10 miles per hour or 16 miles per hour hurts the same. I just kept my feet moving.”
Mississippi State trailed 30-3 in the third quarter but scored 20 unanswered points to cut the score to 30-23 with 5:27 to play. The Bulldogs never touched the ball again, with the Sun Devils running out the clock on 12 plays.
Skattebo had a game-sealing 39-yard rush that allowed ASU to kneel down.
“Until the end, we had our ups and downs there, but that was fun,” he said. “You can ask these guys up front, bullying dudes, grown men that are 300 pounds, that’s fun to us. That’s fun to the front-five, the front-seven and the running back. The quarterback probably hates it. He probably likes watching, but he didn’t complain one time the whole game.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Mississippi
Why Mississippi State football loss to Arizona State revealed a strong Jeff Lebby culture
It was 11:10 p.m. Saturday in Starkville when Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt barreled into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game.
At that point, it would’ve been fair for Mississippi State football fans to call it a night. The Bulldogs (1-1) trailed 27-3 at ASU in the final minute of the second quarter. They were dominated in just about every statistical category. New coach Jeff Lebby looked like he was headed toward his first loss, and an embarrassing one.
And even if you gave the second half a chance, eyes just a crack open, that wasn’t encouraging either. Arizona State (2-0) took the opening drive of the third quarter for a field goal while eating 8 minutes, 27 seconds of game time. That just about decided the game before Mississippi State touched the ball in the second half.
Wrong.
Instead, MSU scored touchdowns on three of its next four drives and cut the score to 30-23 with 5:27 to play. The defense, which was torched for 346 rushing yards, needed one more stop to let the offense try to tie it. It would’ve been the largest comeback in program history.
Mississippi State’s path to a bowl game seems murkier than it was a week ago. But in the long-term, there’s still encouragement after the 30-23 loss.
“Our guys battled in an incredible way in the second half, and we’re going to hold on to that,” Lebby said in his postgame radio interview. “We’re going to find ways to get back in the building, get back to work and be able to walk into Davis Wade (Stadium) with a ton of confidence and ready to go win a football game.”
The encouragement from Mississippi State’s comeback effort
Lebby said after beating Eastern Kentucky 56-7 in Week 1 that there is an abundance of teachable moments in wins, just like losses.
There is plenty to point to after losing to Arizona State.
Mississippi State came out incredibly flat. The Sun Devils scored on their first five possessions. The MSU offense had one field goal, two punts, a fumble returned for a touchdown and a turnover-on-downs in the first half. MSU had -13 rushing yards in the first half.
There were concerns entering the game about the travel distance, late kickoff and high temperature. But let’s be real, Mississippi State was playing so poorly at the start that it was hard to judge if those were factors.
“I got to do a better job getting these guys ready to go play out of the gate,” Lebby said. “I thought our energy, our effort and our emotion was really good, but then we did not play clean there in the first quarter, so that part was frustrating.”
The Bulldogs outscored the Sun Devils 20-0 in the final quarter and a half. It was a surprise. Arizona State was rolling. Mississippi State was not.
MORE: Introducing Sam Sklar, the Clarion Ledger’s new Mississippi State beat reporter
For Lebby, a first-time head coach at any level, let it be a learning moment for him. It was his first time getting pinned in a corner. The Bulldogs adjusted correctly in the second half like good coaches do.
The rushing offense and defense both need to improve. Badly. Quarterback Blake Shapen has been impressive in his first two Mississippi State games and the wide receiver room is deep and talented as ever, but they can’t be the only answer.
That’s just for this season.
Mississippi State has its first tally in the loss column. But it isn’t a strike against Lebby leading the future of the program.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Sam Leavitt leads ASU to convincing victory in 1st career start
Leavitt and the Sun Devils cruised past visiting Wyoming 48-7 on Saturday night at Mountain America Stadium.
The Arizona State football team elevated its play on the field in its 48-7 win over Wyoming in Week 1.
It is elevating its uniform game for Week 2 against Mississippi State.
ASU football is wearing a gold alternate jersey against the Bulldogs at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on Saturday night.
The jersey includes maroon “Arizona State” lettering and maroon numbering, along with a noticeable Big 12 logo.
The Sun Devil football team unveiled the uniform last month, with Athletic Director Graham Rossini posting that “you’ll see this on the field early this season.”
On Thursday, ASU football announced that it would be wearing the uniform against Mississippi State with a video that said “Modern shine, with a classic design.”
On Friday, it posted another look at the uniform.
More: Arizona State vs Mississippi State live score updates, analysis for college football game
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Social media reacted favorably overall to ASU football’s uniform vs Mississippi State:
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Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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