The Ann Arbor region's unemployment rate ticked upward to 9 percent in December, according to statistics released today by the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth.

The rate, which reflects the employment market in Washtenaw County, increased from 8.8 percent in November to 9 percent in December.

"This was a typical December decline and was brought about by minor seasonal job cuts across several sectors," state officials said in a report.

However, most retailers, which typically add jobs in December, did not hire aggressively during the holiday season.

Washtenaw County stores, which usually add 400 jobs during the month, "reported no increase," the state said.

The region's unemployment rate is up from 6.8 percent in December 2008. The county now has 163,600 jobs, down from 169,200 in December 2008.

About 16,300 workers are looking for jobs in the Ann Arbor region, according to state statistics.

Michigan's unemployment rate in December 2009 was 14.6 percent.

Contact AnnArbor.com’s Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter.