Like the rest of the country, getting jobs – and keeping jobs – was a tough proposition in Northeast Mississippi last year as the recession tightened its grip on the economy.

That was made abundantly clear by the unemployment rate for the 16-county region, which averaged 11.2 percent.

In 2008, the jobless rate averaged 8.2 percent; in 2007, it averaged 7.2 percent.

For December, the rate was 11.5 percent, compared to 10.4 percent in November.

Last year, the jobless rate in the region was 11 percent or higher in nine of the months. The lowest rate was 10.4 percent, recorded in April, September and November.

Many of those job losses were in the furniture industry, which lost about 1,000 jobs, according to Ken Pruett, president of the Mississippi Furniture Association.

“We were hit hard again,” he said. “We’ve had a few companies expand and a few smaller companies start up, but we’ve still had a net loss of about 1,000 furniture jobs. And that’s not counting the indirect jobs like suppliers and vendors.”

According to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, the number of employed in Northeast Mississippi fell to 192,220 in December, compared to 192,650 a month earlier. The number of unemployed grew from 22,350 to 24,880.

The region’s labor force – the number of people with jobs or actively seeking jobs – grew from 215,000 to 217,100 thanks in part to an influx of students off from school.

Statewide, the unemployment rate in December was 10.3 percent, up from 9.1 percent in November.

A year earlier, the state jobless rate was 7.7 percent. In Northeast Mississippi, it was 9.0 percent.