Alabama’s jobless rate rose slightly from July until August, but is 1.2 percent lower than August of 2012, according to figures released by the Alabama Department of Labor on Friday.

The state’s unemployment rate for August 2013 was 6.3 percent.

In Covington County, the jobless rate was 7.6 percent in August, up from 7.0 percent in July, but down from 8.4 percent in the same period last year.

Wage and salary employment, or the measure of the number of jobs in the economy, increased 3,400 in August, with gains in the professional and business services sector, the educational and health services sector, and the government sector.

The counties with the lowest unemployment rates are Shelby County at 4.5 percent, Lee County at 5.5 percent, and Cullman and Baldwin Counties at 5.6 percent. The counties with the highest unemployment rates are: Wilcox County at 16.0 percent, Dallas County at 14.1 percent, and Perry County at 14.0 percent.