Washtenaw County's unemployment rate stayed stable in November, officials reported this afternoon.

The region's jobless rate, which slipped from 9.3 percent in September to 8.8 percent in October, stayed at 8.8 percent in November, according to the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth.

Washtenaw joined Livingston as the only counties in the state to avoid an unemployment increase in November.

The Ann Arbor region added about 300 jobs in November. Most of that was attributable to the retail sector, which hired workers for the holiday season, and the government sector, which includes the University of Michigan.

The region's unemployment rate is still 2.8 percentage points higher than it was in November 2008. The area has lost 3,300 jobs in the last 12 months.

"Though the region historically outperforms nearly all other areas of the state, the Ann Arbor (area) was not immune to the weakened labor market conditions that affected the state and nation in the past year," the state reported.

The report comes after the state's unemployment rate dipped to 14.7 percent in November. The national unemployment rate in November was 10.0 percent.

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