Polk County’s April unemployment rate dropped a half a percent from March to April putting Polk as the county with the state’s ninth lowest unemployment rate. 

Polk County’s April unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in April compared to 4.8 percent in March, according to the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

Polk’s April 2015 unemployment rate was 4.8 percent.

Buncombe County remained the state’s lowest unemployment with a rate of 3.7 percent, followed by Henderson County, which had an April unemployment rate of 4.1 percent.

Polk and the counties of Granville, Yadkin, Alexander and Union all had unemployment rates of 4.3 percent in April.

Wake County had an unemployment rate of 4.2 percent with Orange and Chatham counties also sharing Henderson’s 4.1 percent.

Rutherford County ranked 86th in the state with an unemployment rate of 6.9 percent in April.

The highest unemployment rates came from Scotland County with a 9.5 percent unemployment rate and Hyde County with a 9.4 percent unemployment rate, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce.

Polk County’s labor force in April was 8,909 persons with 385 people unemployed, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce.

The state’s unemployment rate in April was 5.0 percent. Rates (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in 95 North Carolina counties in April, increased in three counties and remained unchanged in two counties, according to the department of commerce figures.

The number of workers employed statewide decreased in April by 170 to 4,614,275, according to the department of commerce’s non-seasonally adjusted figures.

Those unemployed in April decreased by 18,743 to 243,285 persons unemployed statewide.

In the last year, since April 2015, people employed statewide increased 106,280 while those unemployed decreased 16,928, according to the department of commerce.

The May figures for counties is scheduled to be released by the department of commerce on June 29.