PEARL RIVER COUNTY — New furloughs in Pearl River County will affect all county employees, including department heads and administrators. The Picayune Item reports the board of supervisors also cut spending, including $50,000 to the library system was free up money in the budget. On June 11, the board of supervisors froze hiring and the [...] [...]
by MBJ Staff Published: June 27,2012
Tags: economy, home, home price, home value, homeowner, house, property, real estate, residence, resident
OXFORD — FNC’s latest Residential Price Index (RPI) indicates that U.S. residential property values are up for the second month in April — evidence that home prices are strengthening as rising demand and limited inventory continue to characterize many U.S. markets. Nationwide, April home prices — based on recorded sales transactions in the 100 largest [...] [...]

Mississippi dipped back into recession in 2011, with overall economic output shrinking 0.8 percent, according to federal figures released last Tuesday. The Magnolia State was one of only six states where the economy contracted in 2011, along with Alabama, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey and Wyoming, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported. Senior economist Marianne [...] [...]

by MBJ Staff Published: May 15,2012
Tags: appointment, Bennie Thompson, Bloomberg, Bobby Jindal, Brent Christensen, capitalism, Clay County, community development, Dave Dennis, economic development, economy, executive, executive director, Florida, Gainesville (Fla.) Area Chamber of Commerce, Gov. Haley Barbour, Gov. Phil Bryant, governor, Greenville, Institutes for Higher Learning, Mississippi, Mississippi Business Journal, Mississippi Development Authority, Nathan Deal, Pew Center on the States, Phil Bryant, politics Tags: Amazon.com, Sean Tindell, state agency, state government
JACKSON — Brent Christensen has been named the new head of the Mississippi Development Authority. Gov. Phil Bryant made the announcement during a press conference at the Marriot Hotel in downtown Jackson. Christensen, who has been the CEO of the Gainesville (Fla.) Area Chamber of Commerce the last 10 years, replaces interim director Jim Barksdale, the [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: May 4,2012
Tags: casinos, construction, Conventions, economy, entertainment, gamblers, gambling, gaming, hospitality, hotels, lodging, meetings, recession, restaurants, tourism, tourists, visitors
BILOXI — Casino operator Caesars Entertainment Corp. says it won’t continue construction of the unfinished casino on the beach in Biloxi, Miss. The company took a $167.5 million non-cash impairment charge on the project, writing off the money spent on the casino before stopping work in 2008. Caesars spokesman Gary Thompson tells the Sun Herald [...] [...]
by MBJ Staff Published: April 30,2012
Tags: consumer confidence, economy, employment, forecast, jobs, outlook, prediction, recession, unemployment, work, workers
ACROSS MISSISSIPPI — The April 2012 issue of the Mississippi Economic Outlook, a quarterly publication replacing the bi-annual Mississippi Economic Review and Outlook, is now available online at www.mississippi.edu/URC. Published by the Center for Policy Research and Planning of the Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL), the Outlook presents the state economic forecast for 2012 to [...] [...]
by MBJ Staff Published: April 30,2012
Tags: economy, home prices, homeowners, homes, houses, real estate, recession, residences, residential real estate, residents
OXFORD — FNC’s latest Residential Price Index (RPI) indicates that U.S. residential property values continued to show signs of persistent weakening, ending in February with a seventh consecutive month-to-month decline. Despite sharply rising activities in existing home sales and new housing starts from a year ago, prices on non-distressed home sales (excluding foreclosure auction sales, [...] [...]

JACKSON — March winnings at Mississippi’s casinos rose 3.9 percent for a year ago, the third time in the last four months that revenues have improved at the state’s 29 gambling halls. An improving economy appears to be bringing gamblers back, while coast casinos may have been boosted by the Final Four being held in [...] [...]
OXFORD — The latest FNC Residential Price Index (RPI) indicates that U.S. home prices declined steadily in the last half of 2011. Since July 2011, prices on non-distressed properties (excluding foreclosure sales, REO sales, and short sales) have fallen 4.5 percent — averaging nearly 1.0 percent per month. The persistent downtrends in home prices are [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: March 29,2012
Tags: economy, employment, firing, hiring, jobs, layoffs, recession, unemployment, unemployment benefits, unemployment rate, work, workers, workforce
ACROSS MISSISSIPPI — Mississippi’s unemployment rate fell to 9.5 percent in February, the lowest level since July 2009. Jobless figures for January had first appeared to dip to 9.9 percent in preliminary numbers, but later were revised up to 10 percent. The state recorded a 10.2 percent unemployment rate in February 2011. The number of [...] [...]