NextChapter

Forrest County, MS jobs, unemployment and layoffs

Forrest County’s unemployment rate is 3.0%. No WARN layoff notices here in the last 12 months. 42 open professional jobs are in its cities.

Forrest County economy

  • 3.0%

    unemployment, Aug 2026

    3.9% the month before

  • 35,335

    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

Forrest County layoffs

No WARN layoff notices naming Forrest County in the last 12 months are on file. WARN covers employers with 100 or more workers, so smaller layoffs are not in it.

All layoff notices in the state

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.

  1. University of Southern Mississippi12 open roles
  2. Community Health Systems3 open roles
  3. Johnson Controls International2 open roles
  4. Ulta Beauty2 open roles
  5. American Statistical Association - ASA1 open role
  6. At Home1 open role
  7. Benevis1 open role
  8. Cintas1 open role
  9. Continental Finance Company1 open role
  10. CubeSmart1 open role

Colleges in Forrest County

Colleges in Forrest County
CollegeCityTypeStudents
University of Southern MississippiHattiesburgPublic 4-year10,000–19,999
William Carey UniversityHattiesburgPrivate nonprofit 4-year5,000–9,999

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.

  • 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

All of Mississippi

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 layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); WARN notices from Mississippi’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers.