JACKSON - Outsourcing and the recession have contributed to a decline in Mississippi industrial jobs over the last year, according to data released in the new 2010 Mississippi Manufacturers Register.

Industrial employment in Mississippi fell 5.1 percent between February 2009 and February 2010. The state lost 9,661 industrial jobs and 164 manufacturers during that time period, leaving Mississippi with 3,182 manufacturers employing 181,395 workers, according to the register.

Those numbers are slightly different than the ones the Mississippi Department of Employment Security collected, according to Mary Willoughby, director of the MDES Bureau of Labor Market Information.

The department's figures put Mississippi at a loss of 5.8 percent, dropping from 145,400 jobs in February 2009 to 136,000 in February 2010. Manufacturing took the biggest hit among all the job sectors during that time, Willoughby said.

The losses aren't as bad as some states have suffered, said Tom Dubin, president of Manufacturers' News, which publishes the register.

"Mississippi has seen some employment losses due to automation and technology, outsourcing and the recession," Dubin said in a statement. "But its favorable business climate and its strong food products sector, which is less susceptible to outsourcing, have kept it from seeing some of the severe losses suffered by other states."

Food products manufacturing is the state's largest industrial sector by employment, with 24,204 jobs. It was also one of the few sectors to gain jobs, up 2.9 percent over the year.

Transportation equipment is the second-largest sector, with 22,302 jobs, down 5.1 percent. Industrial machinery and equipment ranked third with 19,657 jobs. It suffered the steepest drop, down 12.7 percent over the year.

Companies closing facilities over the yearlong period included Whirlpool Corp., which shuttered a location in Oxford; Clorox Manufacturing Products Co., which closed its Pine-Sol plant in Pearl; and printing company Quebecor, which shut down its Olive Branch facility.

The report also highlighted some bright spots in the state's industrial industry. Those included the opening of the Anderson Technologies precision injection molding plant in Batesville, which will employ about 50 people, and the anticipated opening this year of German pipe manufacturer Wilh. Schulz GMBH's plant in Tunica County, which will create 500 jobs over the next five years.

While industry in the state hasn't been immune to the economic downturn, economic development officials believe things are looking better.

"We, along with other economic developers in the state, are always working with prospective companies," said Joseph T. Geddie, executive director of the North Mississippi Industrial Development Association in West Point. "Traffic isn't what it's been in the past. But we're seeing some improvement along those lines."

Things are also looking up with existing industries, some of which are starting to look at expanding, Geddie said.

According to the report, Pascagoula remained the state's top city by industrial employment with 15,071 manufacturing jobs, down 4 percent over the year. Laurel came in second with 7,526 industrial workers, down 2.2 percent over the year. Jackson rounds out the top three with 6,993 industrial jobs, down 5.9 percent.

Manufacturers' News compiles and produces guides for all 50 states.