HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - The places you eat, shop and live are all part of a bigger picture.
As the city of Hattiesburg continues to grow, so do its demands.
One of the city's newest businesses is Vie Pilates Studio.
Very much like a Pilates class, the city of Hattiesburg started small with its progress years ago.
"They kind of understand and already have that foundation and know what they're doing, and we can progress and build on that," said Lindsey Massey, owner and instructor at Vie Pilates studio.
Massey's new business is just one example of growth in Hattiesburg as businesses expand all the way down Highway 98.
Putting an exact number on the amount of businesses coming in and out of the area is always hard to do," said Todd Jackson, vice president of the Area Development Partnership. "What we do know is that we have over $400 million worth of projects either recently announced or under construction or recently opened, which is always amazing. So job growth in a positive direction, continued new investment that wasn't in the community before.
The ADP said the Hattiesburg labor force consists of approximately 70,000 people in the metropolitan area.
That number continues to grow, meaning the unemployment rate continues to slow.
The local labor market has added about 400 jobs over the last year, which is in-between a half and one percent," Jackson said. "Somewhere in that ballpark, but it's going in a positive direction, and that's what you always want to see.
Vie opened on Hwy 98 in November.
Although the studio currently has only two teachers, they recently started teacher training. Most of the people in that class are expected to work right here in Hattiesburg.
If you had asked me 10 years ago if I would ever have opened a business, I would have said, 'No, I would never do that,' " Massey said. "But I felt very called to do this, and I'm really passionate about it.
According to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, so far in 2025, Forrest County has an average unemployment rate of 3.7%, and Lamar County is at 3.3%.
Both counties are below the national average of 4%, and only a portion of those figures reflect the city of Hattiesburg.
This metro area continues to lead the state of Mississippi in job growth each year," Jackson said. "At one point last year, the Hattiesburg metro area was ranked as number one in the nation, with the lowest unemployment rate in the nation at 1.7 percent.
The ADP said elected officials and a healthy business community are to thank for the consistently low unemployment rates, and a lot like Pilates, if you keep doing what works, the results will follow.
At the end of the day, this isn't just a college town," Jackson said. "This is a vibrant college city with a lot of great things going on, and thankfully, we've got everybody here in the community kind of moving in the same direction, working together to make good things happen.
The ADP said the city is preparing for another workforce increase as many college students return to town looking for jobs.
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