The trend of unemployment dropping across Mississippi stopped in June, rising to 4.5 percent from 3.8 and 4.1 in previous months.

Lincoln County’s unemployed rose to 4 percent from 3.3 one month earlier. Six hundred people said they were actively seeking work, but could not find employment. The county’s labor force was 14,930.

Five other counties also had 4 percent unemployment, though 13 counties had a lower percentage. Rankin and Union counties had the lowest rates, at 3.2 percent each. The highest unemployment percentages were found in Humphreys (9.4), Claiborne (10.4) and Jefferson counties (16.4).

In Lincoln County, 20 more people were in the work force from the previous month, but an additional 90 people were unemployed, raising the unemployment percentage from 3.4 to 4 percent. One year ago, 940 people were without work in the county, or 6.3 percent.

State average was 4.5 percent, or 57,000 from a civilian work force of 1,273,300. The U.S. average was 3.8 percent, with 6.334 million unemployed from a work force of more than 165 million.

Counties bordering Lincoln ranged from 5.1 to 16.4 percent. They were: Copiah, 5.1; Lawrence, 5.2; Franklin, 5.4; Walthall, 5.5; Pike, 5.6; and Amite, 5.7.

The labor force includes people age 16 and older who are able to work and are either employed or looking for work. This number does not include full-time students, members of the Armed Forces or those with farm jobs, according to MDES.

Monthly estimates of the labor force, employment, unemployment and the unemployment rate are generated by the Local Area Unemployment Statistics Program, a cooperative program between the Bureau of Labor Statistics and State Employment Security agencies.