ALPENA — Northeast Michigan’s unemployment rate ticked down about one percentage point from July to August, according to state data released Thursday.

Across Alpena, Presque Isle, Montmorency, and Alcona counties, about 6% of working-age residents wanted a job but didn’t have one last month, according to data from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget.

That’s down from about 7% in July and about even with the unemployment rate recorded in August 2023.

The statewide unemployment rate, meanwhile, fell from about 6% down to 5.8% from July to August, according to the state data. The statewide unemployment rate came in at about 4% in August 2023.

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The state data shows 202 fewer Northeast Michiganders wanted a job but didn’t have one last month compared to the month before, leaving 1,606 unemployed Northeast Michiganders last month.

The region’s labor force — a measure of people either working or looking for work — stood at 26,750 people last month, 463 fewer people than in July.

The labor force can shrink if working-age residents retire, move out of the area, die, or simply give up looking for work.

Alpena County’s 5.1% August unemployment rate tied with five other counties for the 36th-lowest rate among Michigan’s 83 counties.

Presque Isle County and Montmorency County each recorded a 6.9% unemployment rate, tied for the fourth-highest in the state.

Alcona County’s 7.2% unemployment was the state’s second-highest.

The most-unemployed county in Michigan was Oscoda County, with a 7.6% joblessness rate.

The state’s least-unemployed county was Southeast Michigan’s Livingston County, where just 2.8% of working-age residents wanted a job but couldn’t find one.