Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties followed the trend of slightly lower unemployment seen in most North Carolina counties this past February.

The N.C. Department of Commerce reported Wednesday that February 2018’s not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rates decreased in 74 of North Carolina’s counties, increased in 10, and remained unchanged in 16.

Pender County’s unemployment experienced the largest over-the-year percentage drop, decreasing half a percentage point, from 5.2 percent in February 2017 to 4.7 percent in February of this year. The county’s rate in February 2018 was also lower than the January 2018 rate of 5 percent.

New Hanover County posted a 4.3 percent unemployment rate in February, as compared to 4.5 percent the month before and 4.7 in February 2017.

Brunswick County, which had the highest rate of the three counties, reported February 2018 unemployment of 6.4 percent. That rate, however, was down from both January 2018 (6.9 percent) and February 2017 (6.7 percent).

In the unemployment rate rankings of all 100 North Carolina counties, New Hanover was number 27, Pender was 46th and Brunswick was 86th. Buncombe County posted the lowest unemployment numbers, at 3.5 percent; Hyde County had the highest rate, at 14.9 percent.

The Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which consists of New Hanover and Pender counties, ranked squarely in the middle of North Carolina’s 15 MSAs in terms of unemployment rates. Brunswick County belongs to the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina MSA.

The Department of Commerce calculated the area’s February 2018 unemployment rates based on a labor force of 50,361 in Brunswick County, 118,290 in New Hanover and 27,352 in Pender County.