As the nation's economy continues to struggle to rebound, the local labor situation seems to be matching its struggle.

Numbers recently released on the Texas Workforce Commission's Web site indicate Henderson County is well over the 8-percent unemployment mark - coming in at 8.2 percent, according to the Web site.

That number was for June, the latest month for which that state agency has a jobs "snapshot."

TWC typically takes a single point in any given month, from which each month's final jobless number is generated.

The 8.2-percent number for June 2009 is substantially higher than the numbers registered in the same month the previous two years.

In 2008, the June number was at 5.4 percent on the unemployment rate. In 2007, it was at 4.8 percent.

This month's number also reflects what is traditionally a weaker period of any given year for the job market - the summer months.

Recent months (nonsummer months) had better results.

Henderson County saw a 6.7-percent rate in April, followed by a 7.1 percent rate in May, before the most recent jump revealed in the TWC report.

According to those TWC numbers, the county had a total labor force of 36,761 in June.

Of that total, it listed 33,754 as employed with slightly more than 3,000 county residents as unemployed in the month.

July numbers are expected to be released by the commission sometime in the first half of August.