Call it a little gift before Christmas: The unemployment rate for Northeast Mississippi fell to its lowest level for the year in November.

But the 10.2 percent jobless rate is just two-tenths lower than the previous low of 10.4 percent, recorded in April and September.

And last November, the region’s unemployment rate was 8.1 percent. Two years earlier, before the start of the recession, it was 6.7 percent.

Still, it was a small bit of good news for a region that has been dealing with double-digit unemployment rates all year.

All 16 counties posted a lower rate than a month earlier, when 13 counties had at least 10 percent rates.

Lafayette (6.9 percent) recorded the lowest rate in the region and sixth-lowest statewide.

Ten counties in the region recorded double-digit rates in November, with Clay County’s 17.8 percent the highest in the region and state. But Clay managed to add 120 jobs in the month to help somewhat.

Statewide, the unemployment rate was 9 percent, down from 9.5 percent in October. The number of unemployed dropped by 7,700 over the month while the number of employed increased by 6,300.

In Northeast Mississippi, the labor force – the number of people with jobs or actively seeking jobs – stayed relatively flat at 214,410. Of that, 192,530 were employed, a gain of nearly 1,400 from October.

Most of the job losses across the state were in government, educational and health services and leisure and hospitality.

December’s rates won’t be released until late January, and those figures are expected to rise. One reason is because the labor force grows as students return home for the holidays.