(The Center Square) – The unemployment rate in Mississippi in March dropped slightly to 3%, but the state's labor force participation rate continues to be one of the nation's worst.

That's down from February's 3.1%.

The Mississippi Department of Employment Security's monthly workforce report shows a gain of 10,000 non-farm jobs for the year to date compared to the same time period last year. Compared to March 2023, the state's workforce expanded by 6,300 jobs, going from 1.17 million employed to 1.18 million.

Neighboring states Arkansas (3.5%), Tennessee (3.2%) and Louisiana (4.4%) were not much different. North Dakota had the nation's lowest unemployment rate at 2%.

Workforce participation rate for March was 53.7%, holding steady from February. The national rate is 62.7%.

Biggest gaining job sectors in March included construction (up 2.2% from last March) and leisure and hospitality (up 2%). 

Among the state's metropolitan areas, the Gulf Coast had a job gain of 1.4% or 2,300 newly employed in March compared to the same time last year. The Hattiesburg area had no job gains in March thanks to a loss of 100 manufacturing jobs, while the Jackson metro area's job gain was a negligible 0.3% while adding 900 positions.  

Initial unemployment claims were 4,242 in March, down from 5,004 in March 2023. Continuing gains increased to 27,128 in March to 23,644 in March 2023.

The state's leading employers include trade, transportation and utilities (244,900 workers or 20.6% of the state's workforce), government (241,000 or 20.3%), education and health services (155,900 or 13.1%), manufacturing (144,600 or 12.2%) and leisure and hospitality (135,500 or 11.4%). 

(The Center Square) — Tax revenues for March in Mississippi were up nearly 17% over the pre-session estimate, as an additional $87 million was collected.

The report by the Legislative Budget Office showed that tax revenues for the fiscal year, which will end June 30, were up 3.51% compared with estimates, adding $178.9 million in revenue to the state's balance sheet and 0.03% above the collections at this point last year. The fiscal 2024 estimate is $7.52 billion. 

As for the year to date, sales tax revenues (nearly $2.1 billion) were up 3.4%, gaining an additional $68.9 million over the year before, when $2.03 billion was collected. 

Use of e-commerce in Mississippi continues to grow, as revenues from the state's 7% use tax on all out-of-state sales grew 3.58% compared to the same time last year. In fiscal 2023, those revenues were $293.9 million, compared to $304.4 million this year, an increase of $10.5 million.

With recent income tax cuts passed by lawmakers, the state's personal income revenues continue to plummet, down 10.07% compared to the year before. The state took in $1.65 billion in 2023 compared to $1.49 billion this year, a reduction of $166.6 million.

Corporate income tax collections were also down compared to the same period last year, falling 5.01%. In fiscal 2023, the state collected $569.5 million compared to $540.9 million this year, a decrease of $28.5 million.

Tobacco and beer taxes and revenue from the state's distribution of wine and liquor were also down slightly (0.59%) compared to the same period last year. Last year, the state collected $194.7 million while collecting $193.6 million this year, a decrease of $1.14 million. 

Gaming tax revenues were also down by 5.3%. In fiscal 2023 up to March, the state collected $121.6 million, compared to $115.2 million, a drop of $6.44 million.

Tax revenue from the state's medical marijuana program also took a plunge, down 13.23% compared to the year before. In fiscal 2023, the program took in $7.43 million compared to $6.44 million this year, a decrease of $982,868.

(The Center Square) – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee joined five other governors in opposing the United Auto Workers' unionization campaign with a vote this week of Chattanooga Volkswagen autoworkers on whether to unionize.

Lee is joined by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott against what they call misinformation from the UAW.

“The reality is companies have choices when it comes to where to invest and bring jobs and opportunity,” Lee and the governors wrote. “We have worked tirelessly on behalf of our constituents to bring good-paying jobs to our states. These jobs have become part of the fabric of the automotive manufacturing industry. Unionization would certainly put our states' jobs in jeopardy – in fact, in this year already, all of the UAW automakers have announced layoffs.”

Tennessee Senate Democratic Caucus Chairwoman London Lamar, on the other hand, offered her support of the Chattanooga workers and UAW, saying that Lee has a history of “anti-worker” legislation such as a removal of automatic Tennessee Education Association deduction options from Tennessee teacher paychecks and an incentive restriction for businesses that allow card check union elections.

“Unlike Tennessee's governor, we applaud Volkswagen workers for engaging in the democratic process and we would welcome the UAW's expansion in Chattanooga,” Lamar said in a statement. “We aren't surprised to see Gov. Bill Lee join with other anti-union states trying to tip the scales against workers. Lee, who inherited a company that made him a millionaire, has signed more anti-worker laws than any governor in Tennessee history.”

Lee and the governors, however, believe a vote to unionize would jeopardize those auto manufacturing plants' future.

“In America, we respect our workforce and we do not need to pay a third party to tell us who can pick up a box or flip a switch,” the governors said. “No one wants to hear this, but it's the ugly reality. We've seen it play out this way every single time a foreign automaker plant has been unionized; not one of those plants remains in operation. And we are seeing it in the fallout of the Detroit Three strike with those automakers rethinking investments and cutting jobs. Putting businesses in our states in that position is the last thing we want to do.”