For the fourth month in a row when compared to the same month last year, the number of people working in St. Lawrence County went up while the number of people receiving unemployment went down.

Figures from the state Department of Labor show the unemployment rate fell .6 percent, to 7.2 percent in July from 7.8 percent in July 2014.

The rate did rise a bit from this past June, when the rate was reported at 7.0 percent.

The actual number of unemployed dropped from 3,600 in July 2014 to 3,300 last month.

There were 42,700 people with jobs last month compared to 42,300 a year ago, the DOL said.

St. Lawrence County does not appear to be faring as well as its immediate neighbors to the east and west.

In the east, Franklin County’s rate of unemployment stood at 6.5 percent in July compared with 6.9 percent a year earlier, or 1,300 from 1,400 people receiving unemployment benefits.

But there were fewer people reported with jobs in Franklin County last month, at 19,200 compared with 19,300 in July 2014.

West of us, in Jefferson County, the unemployment rate dropped from 6.8 percent in July 2014 to 6.2 percent last month. That amounts to 3,000 people in July compared with 3,300 a year earlier.

But 300 fewer people in Jefferson County were reported to have jobs, from 45,300 in July 2014 to 45,000 last month.