The end of the holiday season pushed unemployment rates up in the Tennessee Valley, but Morgan and Lawrence counties saw a decrease in January unemployment numbers compared to a year ago.

Data release today by the Alabama Department of Labor showed a year-to-year unemployment increase in Limestone County.

The seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment rate edged up from 6.8 percent in December to 6.9 percent in January, down from the January 2011 rate of 7.3 percent.

County rates are not seasonally adjusted, and therefore do not account for holiday fluctuations.

In Morgan County, the unemployment rate rose from 6.1 percent in December to to 7.2 percent in January, below the year-ago rate of 7.5 percent.

Limestone County's unemployment rate in January was 7 percent, up from 5.8 percent in December and up from 6.7 percent in January 2011.

The January rate in Lawrence County was 9 percent, an increase from the December rate of 7.2 percent but a slight drop from the January 2011 rate of 9.1 percent.

Not seasonally adjusted, and thus comparable to the county rates, Alabama's January unemployment rate increased from 6.5 percent in December to 7.8 percent in January.

January’s rate represents 148,724 unemployed persons in the state, compared to 145,613 in December and 158,040 in January 2012.

Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent from December to January, below the year-ago rate of 8.3 percent.