Friday, the N.C. Department of Commerce’s Labor & Economic Analysis Division announced that the unemployment rate for the region comprised of Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties, was 6.6 percent in January.

For the region, that is higher than 5.6 percent in December but lower than 7.9 percent recorded in January 2014. The unemployment rate of the region is .7 percentage points higher than the statewide unemployment rate of 5.9 percent.

New Hanover County reported the lowest unemployment rate in the region at 5.6 percent in January, up from 4.7 percent in December and down from 6.9 percent recorded in January 2014. This January, the county ranked 23rd in unemployment of all North Carolina counties.

Brunswick County reported the highest unemployment rate in the region at 8 percent in January, up from 6.3 percent in December and down from 8.6 percent recorded in January 2014. Its unemployment rate ranked 80th of all counties.

Pender County posted a 6.4 percent unemployment rate in January. This is up from 5.2 percent in December but down from 8 percent recorded in January 2014. Pender ranked 50th in unemployment among all counties.

Overall, the unemployment rate decreased in 98 of the 100 North Carolina counties in January.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in January—up by .1 percent from December 2014.

Buncombe County held the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 4.5 percent, while Graham County held the highest unemployment rate at 14.5 percent.

The Rocky Mount metro topped all metropolitan areas' unemployment rates at 8.2 percent, while Asheville metro boasted the lowest metro unemployment rate at 4.8 percent.