Employment in Mississippi’s two largest counties increased from March 2024 to March 2025, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hinds County saw a 0.3 percent rise in employment, which was the larger increase compared to Harrison County.
In March 2025, Hinds County reported an employment level of 109,200. The combined employment in these two counties made up 17.1 percent of all covered jobs in Mississippi. Across the United States, the largest 372 counties accounted for about 73.4 percent of total covered employment.
Both Hinds and Harrison counties experienced growth in average weekly wages over the year. Wages rose by 5.2 percent in Hinds and by 3.7 percent in Harrison.
Despite these increases, average weekly wages remained below the national average of $1,589 per week. In Hinds County, the average was $1,200; in Harrison County it was $990.
The report also provided wage data for Mississippi’s smaller counties—those with fewer than 75,000 employees as of 2024. Of these small counties, only Claiborne had an average weekly wage above the national figure at $1,607; Issaquena had the lowest at $601.
Statewide among all 82 counties, ten reported average weekly wages under $775; twenty-three fell between $775 and $849; twenty-two ranged from $850 to $924; ten were between $925 and $999; and seventeen had averages of at least $1,000 per week.
Additional information on quarterly employment and wage statistics is available through BLS technical notes and its Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages website.
The next release covering second quarter data is scheduled for December 3, 2025.
“Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that Hinds County had the larger over-the-year increase in employment (+0.3 percent).”
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