Scotland County's unemployment rate remained at 17.2 percent for June, according to figures released by the North Carolina Employment Security Commission.

Scotland's rate remains top in the state, followed by Edgecombe County with a 16.6 percent and McDowell County with a 16.1 percent rate.

Burnest Graham, JobLink director for Scotland County, says a flat unemployment rate is good for this time of year.

"June is a month that we get all of the seasonal people that were in high school thrown into the work force," Graham said. "That is part of why we didn't have an increase... If that holds true, then the next month should have a sizable decrease. I am not a good prognosticator, but that is my hope."

Scotland County saw 35 people join the workforce with 24 of those people finding work.

In North Carolina, 56 counties saw an unemployment rate increase, 32 saw a decrease and 12 counties remained the same. Meanwhile, the statewide rate dropped from 11.2 percent to 11.

“Outside of a few counties, there wasn't a lot of change in rates going up or down,” ESC Chairman Moses Carey Jr. said. “Throughout the state, we've had gains in both employment and unemployment.”

He attributed lack of movement to lackluster seasonal growth.

"We are seeing some summer hiring, but not at the pace in previous years," Carey said. "At the same time, we are still dealing with some job loss and the ESC continues to be there for those individuals needing work search assistance or help with filing for unemployment benefits."

Unemployment rates in surrounding counties for June were:

• Hoke County's rate was 8.9 percent, up half a percentage point from May;

• Moore County's rate was 10.2 percent, up a tenth of a point;

• Richmond County's rate was 14 percent, down 0.2 points;

• Robeson County's rate was 12.3 percent, up 0.4 points.

Unemployment in the Palmetto State has continued to climb; South Carolina's rate increased slightly to 12.1 percent in June.

Roosevelt T. Halley, Executive Director of the South Carolina ESC, felt the slight increase was positive news.

“We are still in the grip of this recession, as evidenced by the continued job losses in Retail Trade, Manufacturing and Construction," Haley said. “We are hopeful that the leveling of the unemployment rate over the past two months may be an indication that we are approaching the bottom of this prolonged downward cycle.”

Neighboring Marlboro County is tied with Barnwell County for fifth in South Carolina with an unemployment rate of 19.7 percent. Marlboro has an increase of 0.1 percentage points.

The state's top county for unemployment is Allendale, with a rate of 23.5.