(Whitewater Valley)--Wayne County’s unemployment rate has just risen for the third consecutive month.  According to new numbers from the state, in the last four months, the rate has gone from 3.2% to 3.6 to 4 to, now, four and a half percent.  There are 120 more residents listed as unemployed this month than there were last month.  The county’s labor force also dropped by nearly 700 people.  As it usually does, Union County has our area’s lowest rate at 3.1%, while Fayette County is the highest at 4.9%.