Escambia County’s unemployment rate held steady in November at 10.6 percent.

The state rate increased slightly, from 8.9 percent in October to 9 percent in November.

“We saw a small increase, but our unemployment rate continues to remain well below the national average, and our employment service division is reporting more active job orders than at any time in the past three years,” Alabama Department of Industrial Relations Director Tom Surtees said.

The national unemployment rate for November was 9.8 percent, up from the previous month’s rate of 9.6 percent.

A year ago, the state rate was 10.9 percent, and the county rate was 12.5 percent.

The county rate represents 1,521 unemployed persons in November.

The counties with the lowest unemployment rates were Shelby at 6.7 percent, Coffee at 7.0 percent and Madison with 7.1 percent. The counties with the highest unemployment rates were Wilcox with 20.7 percent, Greene with 18.3 percent and Dallas with 16.8 percent.