Although slightly better than June, Polk County has slipped to the 27th lowest unemployment rate in the state at 4.7 percent in July. 

The N.C. Department of Commerce released county figures last week for unemployment rates in July.

Polk County’s June unemployment rate was 4.9 percent with a ranking of 29th lowest in the state.

Polk’s May unemployment rate was 4.2 percent with that ranking placing Polk as the 12th lowest in the state. Polk’s April unemployment rate was 4.3 percent, according to the department of commerce.

Buncombe County remained the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 3.8 percent, followed by Wake County at 4.1 percent and Henderson County at 4.2 percent.

Nearby Rutherford County ranked 87th in the state with an unemployment rate of 6.7 percent in July.

The highest unemployment rate in July was in Scotland County at 9 percent unemployed.

In July, Polk County had a workforce of 8,789 people with 413 people unemployed, according to the department of commerce.

The workforce slipped in July from May, which was 8,943, but in May only 375 people were unemployed.

The 2016 unemployment rates in Polk County are down from the 2015 figures of the same months. Polk’s unemployment rate in July 2015 was 5.5 percent and in June 2015, Polk’s rate was 5.6 percent, according to N.C. Department of Commerce figures.

Polk’s June figures were slightly above the statewide unemployment rate of 5.0 percent.

Compared to July 2015, unemployment rates decreased in all 100 North Carolina counties.

The number of workers statewide increased in July 2016 by 6,056 to 4,616,358 total. Those unemployed decreased by 7,785 to 241,175 unemployed statewide. Since July of last year, workers statewide increased by 103,448 and those unemployed decreased by 60,423.

The next unemployment data is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, Sept. 20 when the state unemployment rate for August 2016 will be released. Countywide data will be released after the state unemployment rate is released.