Polk County saw an increase in unemployment in the month of June compared to the month of May and compared to a year ago, according to the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

The department of commerce released June’s figures recently that showed Polk had a 5.8 percent unemployment rate in June, compared to a rate of 5.3 percent in May 2015.

Polk County’s unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in June 2014, according to the department of commerce.

Polk was one of the state’s 95 counties that saw an increase in unemployment rates compared to the month of May.

While at some points last year Polk recorded the second lowest unemployment rate in the state, Polk was ranked 23^rd in the state last month.

Nearby Henderson County had an unemployment rate of 5.1 percent in June, which was the fourth lowest unemployment rate in the state.

Rutherford County’s 8.4 percent ranked it 87^th in the state out of 100 counties.

Buncombe County’s unemployment rate of 4.7 percent was the lowest rate in the state in June, according to the department of commerce, while Graham County recorded the highest unemployment rate in the state at 12.3 percent.

N.C. Department of Commerce Public Relations Manager Larry Parker said county figures are not seasonally adjusted like the state and metro areas so residents should focus more on the over-the-year changes regarding unemployment estimates.

Polk County’s June unemployment was below the statewide unemployment rate of 6.1 percent, but rose by half a percent from its May unemployment rate of 5.3 percent.

The state’s unemployment rate also rose from its 5.9 percent in May to 6.1 percent in June, according to the department of commerce. The state’s unemployment rate for June 2015 was lower than the state’s June 2014 unemployment rate of 6.4 percent.

During the month of June, Polk County had a labor force of 8,629 with 498 people unemployed, according to the department of commerce.

Rutherford County had a labor force of 25,366 in June with 2,132 unemployed and Henderson County had a labor force of 50,660 with 2,580 unemployed in June, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce.