Mower County’s unemployment rate increased for the second straight month, as January’s unemployment rate was 6.3 percent.

At 6.3 percent, January’s unemployment rate was the highest in Mower County since June of 2009, when the unemployment rate was 6.8 percent, according to statistics released by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. However, the unemployment rate was lower than last January, when the county’s unemployment rate was 7.1 percent.

The increase marked the second straight month the county’s unemployment rate increased, as unemployment decreased from June through November. December’s unemployment rate was 5.5 percent.

In January, 1,348 people were unemployed in the county, which was the most since June when 1,445 people were unemployed. In December, 1,163 people were unemployed.

Minnesota’s overall seasonably adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 7.3 percent — 215,922 people unemployed — in January from 7.4 percent in December when 219,267 people were unemployed. The U.S unemployment rate also dropped in January, with a seasonable adjusted rate of 9.7 percent compared to 10 percent in December and November.