Forrest County, MS jobs, unemployment and layoffs
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Show me jobs near meForrest County economy
3.0%
unemployment, Sep 2026
3.3% the month before
35,659
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
78,027
people in Forrest County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$52,821
median household income
Source: Census ACS
35%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS
Where Forrest County ranks
Where Forrest County placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #11Counties with the most job centers per unemployed person in the Southeast9.4 per 10,000 · of 100
Forrest County outlook: Steady
Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.
- Private-sector jobs down 4.8% from 2022 to 2025
- Population up 1.1% from 2020 to 2025
- Unemployment 3.0%, down 0.3 points from a year ago
- Sectors losing the most jobs: admin & staffing (−946 jobs), manufacturing (−613 jobs)
Learn and get funded in Forrest County
- Which AI skills each kind of job asks for, with the pay premium.
- Your local workforce board and American Job Centers: training vouchers and re-employment help.
- Grants and funding for job seekers, ranked for your state and situation.
- Unemployment benefits by state, if you are between jobs.
Forrest County layoffs
No layoff notices naming Forrest County in the last 12 months are on file. The WARN Act covers employers with 100 or more workers, so smaller layoffs are not in it.
Employers hiring most in Forrest County
Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.
- University of Southern Mississippi14 open roles
- Community Health Systems6 open roles
- Realty Advantage2 open roles
- Ulta Beauty2 open roles
- Advisory Partners1 open role
- Agape Care1 open role
- AMN Healthcare, Executive & Physician Leadership Solutions1 open role
- At Home1 open role
- Benevis1 open role
- Central Sunbelt FCU1 open role
Colleges in Forrest County
| College | City | Type | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Southern Mississippi | Hattiesburg | Public 4-year | 10,000–19,999 |
| William Carey University | Hattiesburg | Private non-profit 4-year | 5,000–9,999 |
Workforce development and job centers
The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Forrest County. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.
Laid off in Mississippi? How to file for unemployment in Mississippi (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).
- Twin Districts Workforce Development Area
Clarke, Covington, Forrest, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Kemper, Lamar, Lauderdale, Leake, Marion, Neshoba, Newton, Pearl River, Perry, Scott, Smith, Stone, Wayne
Hattiesburg WIN Job Center
Hattiesburg · Affiliate · 601-584-1202
Monday - Friday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM- Closed - Wed 4:00 PM
Cities in Forrest County
Other Mississippi counties
Laid off or looking for work in Forrest County?
See what to do first and the jobs open near you.
See your options after a layoffSources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); layoff notices from Mississippi’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. Mississippi unemployment benefits and severance rules.
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