GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) -- More people became unemployed at the start of the new year, according to new jobless numbers.

The Mesa County Workforce Center reports 9.2 percent of county residents were unemployed in January 2013, compared to 8.9 percent in December 2012.

Suzie Miller, Business Services Manager for the workforce center, says for the past four years, January has had the highest jobless rate of any month.

She attributes the trend to a lack of seasonal jobs at the beginning of the year.

Across Colorado, 7.3 percent of people were unemployed in January, dropping from December's 7.6 percent, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

Nationally, the unemployment rate increased one-tenth of one percentage point over the same period to 7.9 percent.