Grayson County's unemployment rate dropped out of the double-digit category during October, the most recent figures available from the Cabinet for Workforce Development.

The county's 8.8 percent rate, however, remained the highest in the 8-county Lincoln Trail Area Development District, staying about two percentage points above Breckinridge's 6.2 percent and Hardin's 6 percent.

The county rate remained well above the statewide rate of 5.5 percent, the second lowest jobless rate of the year.

For the state, manufacturing jobs had a slight increase in October over September (200 jobs opening up), but it was not enough to offset the loss from October 2002 to the same month in 2003 -- a loss of 5,200 jobs.

Carlos Cracraft, the department's chief labor market analyst, said there were two bright spots in the October report.

"Kentucky's 5.5 percent unemployment rate is the lowest rate Kentucky has experienced since a 5.3 percent rate recorded in January 2003," he said.

And seven of the 10 major nonfarm job sectors had employment increases in October, he said. "Two sectors declined," he continued, "and one stayed the same."

He said October 2003 was the 19th month that Kentucky's jobless rate had been lower than the U.S. rate.

Earlier in 2003, Grayson County was experiencing rates of 10 percent to slightly above that double-digit line.