OHIO VALLEY —The latest statistics show unemployment is on the decline in Gallia County but on the rise in both Meigs and Mason counties.

The latest numbers reported by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and WorkForce West Virginia are for the month of November.

In Meigs County, after unemployment had declined for four months in a row, it was on the rise slightly, going from 10.1 percent in October, to 10.4 percent in November. Meigs County seems to be perpetually ranked at number two out of Ohio’s 88 counties in terms of having the highest unemployment. Only Pike County has a higher unemployment rate in Ohio at 11.9 percent for November.

For the third month in a row, unemployment rates have declined in Gallia County, going from 7.8 percent in October to 7.6 percent in November. Gallia County went from being ranked at 19 to 21 out of Ohio’s 88 counties when it comes to unemployment rates - in terms of rankings, it’s a good thing when a county’s number rises with the higher the ranking, the lower the unemployment.

For example, once again coming in at number 88 is Mercer County with 3.9 percent unemployment, preceded by Holmes County with 4.2 percent, Delaware County with 4.5 percent, Auglaize County with 4.7 percent and Putnam County with five percent unemployment.

In Mason County, unemployment went from 9.6 percent in both September and October, to 9.7 percent in November. This means Mason County is ranked in eighth place in terms of the highest unemployment in the state, sharing that spot with Calhoun County which also had 9.7 percent unemployment. The top five, in terms of counties with the highest rate of unemployment in the state, are Wetzel, 10.3 percent; Grant, 10.4 percent; Pocahontas, 11.3 percent; Webster, 13 percent; and Clay, 14.1 percent.

Monongalia County had the lowest unemployment rate at four percent, followed closely by Jefferson County with 4.1 percent. Mason County was not alone with its increasing unemployment rate, in fact, unemployment was on the rise in 29 counties with 20 counties reporting declining rates and six counties reporting no change.

Ohio’s unemployment rate was 6.8 percent in November, down slightly from 6.9 percent in October. West Virginia’s unemployment rate declined two-tenths of a percentage point to 7.3 in November. The U.S. unemployment rate for November was 7.7 percent, down from 7.9 percent in October, and down from 8.7 percent in November 2011.