COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) - For a second straight month, Branch County’s jobless rate has jumped at least a full percentage point. The number for January was 9.2% compared to 8.1% for December. In November, it was 7.1%. State officials say the year started with seasonal job reductions in construction along with cuts in the leisure and hospitality sectors.

A year ago in January, Branch County’s unemployment rate was 9.9%. Seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates rose in all of Michigan's 17 major labor market areas in January. The February figures are expected to be released in two weeks