ALPENA — Northeast Michigan’s unemployment rate hiked up by a full percentage point last month as the pool of potential workers shrank and more people went without a job, according to state data released Thursday.

Across Alpena, Presque Isle, Montmorency, and Alcona counties, 5.9% of working-age people couldn’t find a job, according to data from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget.

That’s up from 4.9% in November but still lower than the roughly 6.7% of Northeast Michiganders out of work in December 2022.

Meanwhile, the statewide unemployment rate dipped slightly to 3.5% in December from 3.6% in November.

Those numbers are not seasonally adjusted.

Northeast Michigan’s joblessness spiked as the labor force — a measure of people either working or looking for work — shrank by 628 people from November to December and the number of unemployed — those looking for work but not working — climbed by 260 people, according to the state data.

The region’s unemployment rate often spikes in the cold-weather months as snowbirds fly south for the winter and much of the region’s tourism-related jobs dry up. If past trends continue, Northeast Michigan could face higher unemployment rates until at least April.

In December, the four counties’ labor force stood at 25,557 people, while 1,486 Northeast Michiganders were out of work, according to the data.

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Alpena County’s 4.2% December unemployment tied with Lapeer and Marquette counties for the 38th-lowest rate among Michigan’s 83 counties.

Presque Isle County’s 8% joblessness was the seventh-highest.

Montmorency County’s 8.2% was the fifth-highest.

Alcona County’s 6.7% was the 10th-highest.

The least unemployed county in Michigan was Southeast Michigan’s Livingston County, where 2.5% were without a job last month.

The state’s most unemployed county was Mackinac County, at 15.5%.