Scotland County's jobless rate jumped to 13.1 percent in November, according to figures released Tuesday by the North Carolina Employment Security Commission.

Despite the 1.4 percent increase from October, Edgecombe County edged out Scotland for the distinction of having the top rate in the state.

County officials have said that this time of year is generally when companies start cutting for the new year and were expecting an increase.

J.D. Willis, chairman of the county board, said Scotland was working hard to get jobs.

"The county commissioners have put together a very aggressive industrial recruitment plan," Willis said. "We recently hired an economic developer to do nothing but concentrate on job recruitment."

Most surrounding counties saw a rate increase similar to that of Scotland's. Anson County's unemployment rate increased by 1.5 percent to 11.2. Hoke's rate increased 0.7 points to 6.5 percent. Richmond's rate increased by 0.9 percent to 11.1 and Robeson's rate increased by 0.9 to 9.1 percent.

Neighboring Marlboro County's unemployment rate for November was at 14.2 percent with a 1.1 point drop, according to the South Carolina Employment Security Commission. South Carolina's unemployment rate increased to 8.4 percent.

After Edgecombe and Scotland, the counties with the highest unemployment rates are Cherokee at 12 percent, Vance at 11.5 percent and Halifax and McDowell tied at 11.4 percent. There were 17 counties with a rate above 10 percent in November.

Orange County had the lowest unemployment rate at 4.7 percent, followed by Watauga County at 5.1 percent. The third lowest rate was held by Durham, Jackson and Wake counties at 5.8 percent.

Unemployment rates increased in all of the state’s 14 metropolitan statistical areas. The Rocky Mount metro experienced the highest unemployment rate at 10.9 percent, which was a 1.2 point increase over the previous month. Hickory/Lenoir/Morganton had the second-highest rate at 10.2 percent, a 1.7 point increase from October. The Durham metro had the lowest unemployment rate at 5.8 percent, which increased 0.7 of a percentage point from the previous month. The Raleigh/Cary metro followed at 6.1 percent.

"Manufacturing, retail trade and service sectors have been hit hard during this national and worldwide economic slump," Harry E. Payne, Jr., ESC chairman, said. "Retail trade was down because many employers did not take on more workers during this holiday season as they have in the past. Also, textile and furniture manufacturing continue to struggle in the global economy."

Burnest E. Graham, director of the Scotland County ESC office, could not be reached for comment.