The unemployment rate in Freestone county dropped a fraction to 6.5 percent in August, the latest figures from Texas Workforce Commission show.

A slight drop in unemployment is also noted in most of the surrounding counties, Limestone county being the exception.

Out of a labor force of 11,019 in Freestone county, 721 workers were without jobs in August.

In July, the county unemployment rate was 6.6 percent with 733 people out of work from a workforce of 11,059.

The Texas unemployment rate for August came in at eight percent, up slightly from July but well below the national rate of 9.7 percent.

Out of a labor force of 12.1 million in Texas, there were 981,952 people without jobs.

"Despite our strong Texas economic foundation, the national recession continues to have an adverse impact on our state," TWC chairman Tom Pauken says.

Freestone county posts the lowest unemployment rate in the area.

Second lowest unemployment rate in the area is 7.1 percent in Limestone county, even though it rose from 6.9 percent in July.

Out of a total labor force of 11,366 in Limestone county, there are 812 people out of work.

Anderson county posts the highest unemployment rate in the area, 9.1 percent, with 1,992 people jobless from a total labor force of 21,744.

In July, the Anderson county unemployment rate was 9.2 percent.

Leon county had a 7.8 percent unemployment rate in August, down from 8.1 percent in July. Out of a total labor force of 8,305, there were 651 people jobless.

An eight percent August unemployment rate is posted for Navarro county, where 1,734 people are jobless out of a total labor force of 21,729. The July unemployment rate in Navarro county was 8.6 percent.

Amarillo Metropolitan Statistical Area experienced the lowest unem- ployment rate in the state, 5.6 percent, in August, followed by Lubbock MSA with 5.7 percent and the Midland and Abline areas at 6.1 percent.

Unemployment rate in the McAllen-Edinburg- Mission area of South Texas dropped to 11.4 percent from 11.5 percent a month earlier.