(LANSING) – Unemployment rates went up around Southern Michigan in the month of December.

The Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget has released the December figures, and St. Joseph County saw an increase in unemployment, going from 4% in November to 4.1% in December.

The largest increase in the area was in Cass County, which went up one-half a percent from 3.8% to 4.3%. Branch County’s unemployment jumped from 3.7% in November to an even 4% in December.

Hillsdale County had an unemployment increase from 4.2% to 4.4%.

Statewide, the unemployment rate went from 3.5% in November to 3.8 percent in December. That’s still better than one year ago when the State’s unemployment rate was 4.2%, but it’s higher than the December 2022 national rate of 3.3%.

Wayne Rourke, the Labor Market Information Director of the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics says while regional labor markets saw an increase in their unemployment and workforce reductions during December, preliminary annual average jobless rates declined markedly over the year.