With the highest unemployment rate nationally since 1983, it’s hard to believe the economists when they talk about the recession being over. This week’s station roundup takes a look at a program in Mississippi that’s targeting new opportunities across the state, a homelessness relief project in Florida, and a job plan from an unlikely industry in Alabama.

State officials in Mississippi are hoping that a new Economic Tour of various towns will help identify where jobs and other opportunities are needed most, The Clarion-Ledger reported this week. Some areas of the state are already making strides on their own. Mississippi Public Broadcasting profiles how the Gulf Coast town of Ocean Springs is helping small businesses keep insurance costs down.

In Tallahassee, Florida, stimulus funds are being used to help the homeless. Gina Jordan of WFSU reports on how three agencies in the state plan to distribute the funds to those who are on the street, as well as people who are at risk of losing their homes due to foreclosure.

In Alabama, there was a bright spot this week for both an area of the country and an industry that have been hit hard by the economic crisis. Kia plans to expand suppliers to its car assembly plant near the Alabama/Georgia state line is , creating more than 3,600 jobs in the state.