(RALEIGH) -- North Carolina gained 2,300 non-farm jobs in December amid another rise in the jobless rate. That is according to statistics released Monday by the state’s Employment Security Commission.

The jobs gain is the first since August but the state’s unemployment rate edged up slightly to 9.8 percent in December. "There was an increase in the labor force likely from folks looking for holiday work and so the number of people unemployed went up slightly. That was the reason for the gain in the unemployment rate," said Larry Parker, spokesman for the State ESC.

The jobless rate in November was 9.7 percent.  The state's 9.8 percent unemployment rate is now fourth-tenths higher than the National Average which was 9.4 percent in December.