Richmond County’s unemployment rate fell six-tenths of a percentage point to 13.6 in November, while Scotland County lost the distinction of having the highest jobless figure in the state for the first time in more than a year.

The county numbers for the month of November were released Tuesday, following a release last month showing the state’s unemployment rate dipped from 10.9 to 10.8 percent.

Edging Scotland County for the highest county unemployment rate was Edgecombe County in the northeastern part of the state, which saw its rate drop from 16.9 percent in October to November’s 16.6.

For Richmond County, the decrease of more than half a percentage point was an encouraging sign, though there were a significant number of workers in the county laid off in the following month of December.

The Rexam Plant of Hamlet alone accounted for more than 200 lay-offs in month of December, which in total would account for a one percent increase in the county.

Other counties in the area saw little movement, aside from Anson County, which saw the same six-tenths of a percent decrease as Richmond during the month. Anson’s unemployment rate fell to 14.9 percent.

Montgomery County saw no change between October and November, as its unemployment rate remained 13.1 percent.

In Moore and Hoke counties, the rate ticked upwards .2 percent to reach 9.8 in Moore and 8.5 in Hoke.

In Stanly County, the rate dipped .1 percent to reach 12.6 percent.

The rest of the state didn’t fare as well as the Sandhills for the most part, with 60 counties reporting increases in joblessness in November.

“Many of the state’s counties experienced a small change in their unemployment rates,” North Carolina Employment Security Commission Chairman Moses Carey Jr. said. “We continue to assist job seekers and those customers looking to apply for unemployment insurance. Help has arrived in the form of another extension of benefits and we have begun paying out those funds to eligible participants.”

There are now 67 counties joining Richmond with double-digit unemployment, up from 64 in October.

Construction and special trade contractors accounted for the largest number of people who were put out of work, with 7,244 filing their first claim in November.

Business services accounted for 4,464 of the first-time claims, while another 4,149 came from the field of heavy construction other than building.

Another more than 6,500 newly unemployed workers came from the industrial and commercial machinery and computer equipment and textiles manufacturing fields.

In a press release, researcher John Quinterno of South by North Strategies pointed out a third of the state’s counties registered an unemployment rate of 12 percent or above.

He also noted that while the number of new initial claims fell from October, the total number of jobless in the state continues to swell.

“Although the number of newly-unemployed individuals has fallen, the number of unemployed individuals who remain jobless has increased,” Quinterno said. “This has led to a surge in the number of households experiencing financial hardships. For instance, some 578,000 North Carolina households received food stamps last month, a 23-percent increase from a year ago."

Staff Writer Philip D. Brown can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 32, or by e-mail at pbrown@yourdailyjournal.com.