Scotland County saw a drop in local joblessness while counties around the state saw their rates tick upward.

The county's unemployment rate for November was 16.5 percent, a decrease of 0.7 points, according to statistics released by North Carolina Employment Security Commission.

Scotland was among just 31 counties in North Carolina to see a decrease while 60 counties saw a rise in unemployment rates.

Scotland was also edged out for the top rate in the state by Edgecombe, which has a 16.6 percent unemployment rate. Rounding out the top counties for unemployment are Rutherford with a 16.1 percent rate, Caldwell with 15.9, Graham with 15.8 and Cherokee with a 15 percent rate. Orange has the lowest rate in the state at 6.3 percent.

The rate change seemed to be primarily from fewer people seeking jobs in November than in October, though there was marginal employment growth. The figures showed that 21 more Scotland County residents had jobs than the prior month while the number of people looking for work dropped by 115.

There were 13,908 people in the labor force in Scotland County for the month of November, 11,609 of which had jobs and 2,299 of which were seeking work.

Neighboring counties did not share the same drop in unemployment as Scotland. Hoke County's rate increased by 0.2 points to 8.5 percent while Moore County increased by 0.2 points to 9.8 percent. Robeson's rate stayed at 11.8 percent while only Richmond County's rate saw a decrease, dropping by 0.6 points to 13.6 percent.

North Carolina's rate also increased as a whole from 10.6 percent in October to 10.7 percent in November.

"Many of the state's counties experienced a small change in their unemployment rates," ESC Chairman Moses Carey Jr. said in a statement Tuesday. "Help has arrived in the form of another extension of (unemployment) benefits, and we have begun paying out those funds to eligible participants."

South Carolina also saw an increase – the rate rose 0.3 points to 12.3 percent while Scotland's southerly neighbor, Marlboro County, saw a drop in rate of 0.7 points to 20.1 percent unemployment for the month of November. They are currently fifth in South Carolina for unemployment.

“We have seen an increase in the number of people returning to the workforce for the first time since May, and we will likely see the number of unemployed rise throughout the fall months," SC ESC Interim Executive Director Sam Foster said. "Going forward, extensive job creation in the private sector will be a key factor in lowering the state’s unemployment rate for the long term."