With 42,500 people working in St. Lawrence County in November, the number on the job was 1,300 more than in November 2017, an increase of 1.3 percent, according to the latest figures from the state Labor Department.

The unemployment rate was 4.3 percent, down from 6.2 percent in November 2017, a decline of 1.9 percent, but up slightly from October this year when it stood at 4.2 percent.

The number of people receiving unemployment benefits stood at 1,900, down 0.8 percent from 2,700 in November 2017.

To the east in Franklin County, the unemployment rate rose slightly from 3.8 percent this October to 3.9 percent last month, but that is still much lower than the 5.9 percent posted in November 2017. There were 800 people in the county receiving benefits in November this year and 1,200 the same month last year. Franklin County had 19,400 people employed last month and 18,700 in November 2017, DOL said.

To the west in Jefferson County, the November unemployment rate rose to 4.7 percent, up from 4.1 percent in October, but still lower than the 6.7 percent figure in November 2017. The number of people receiving the insurance benefit was 2,100, down from 3,000 in November 2017. There were 43,000 people working in Jefferson County in November, up from 41,800 in the same month last year.

Only the Bronx, at 5.1 percent, Jefferson County, at 4.7 percent, and Oswego, at 4.4 percent, had a higher November unemployment rate than St. Lawrence and Franklin counties, which were tied at 4.3 percent.