Economic Development

Wages and Employment

The Hattiesburg MSA has a 12 month moving average unemployment rate of 9.1 %.  Establishment based employment statistics showed that Hattiesburg gained 800 net new jobs from September 2010 to September 2011.

Establishment Based Employment
(MDES, 2011)
Area September 2010
(in thousands)		 September 2011
(in thousands)
Mississippi 1,092.1 1,097.6
Greater Hattiesburg MSA 58.8 59.6
Greater Hattiesburg MSA Employment by Sector
(MDES, 2011)
Sector Sept 2010 (in thousands) % of Overall Employment Base

Sept 2011 (in thousands)

 % of Overall Employment Base
Manufacturing 3.4 5.7 3.3 5.5
Trade, Transportation & Utilities 12.3 21.0 12.3 20.7
Leisure and Hospitality 7.4 12.7 7.5 12.7
Government 14.3 24.3 14.2 23.7
Other 21.3 36.1 22.2 37.2
Unemployment Rates
(MDES, 2011)
Year Hattiesburg  MSA (%) Mississippi (%) United States (%)
2011* 9.2 10.4 9.1
2010 8.9 10.4 9.6

*October 2011 - 12 Month Moving Average

Greater Hattiesburg MSA Wages
(MDES, 2011)
Title Average Hourly ($) Entry Hourly ($) Experienced Hourly ($)
Total All Occupations 15.87 8.22 19.70
Management 35.53 18.07 44.27
Business and Financial Operations 22.65 13.61 27.18
Computer and Mathematical 22.21 12.51 27.07
Life, Physical and Social Science Occupations 24.10 13.37 29.47
Community and Social Services 16.13 11.74 18.33
Legal 27.81 14.50 34.46
Education, Training and Library 18.07 9.61 22.30
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports and Media 18.56 10.12 22.78
Heathcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 28.33 13.28 35.85
Healthcare Support 10.30 8.23 11.33
Protective Service Occupations 13.52 8.76 15.90
Food Preparations and Serving-Related Occupations 9.06 7.80 9.68
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance 9.69 8.04 10.51
Personal Care and Service 9.80 7.92 10.74
Sales and Related Occupations 12.58 8.06 14.84
Office and Administrative Support 12.82 8.68 14.89
Farming, Fishing and Forestry 15.33 12.70 16.64
Construction and Extraction 14.50 9.79 16.86
Installation, Maintenance and Repair 18.20 10.90 21.84
Product Occupations 16.27 9.37 19.72
Transport and Material Moving 12.28 8.05 14.40