RALEIGH — North Carolina gets its last look before Election Day at where the state's unemployment rate is heading.

The state Commerce Department on Friday releases data on North Carolina's jobless rate.

The unemployment rate rose slightly to 9.7 percent in August with nearly 6,000 more people reported as jobless than the previous month. It was the second straight month the state's unemployment rate rose slightly, leaving North Carolina with the fifth-highest jobless rate in the country.

The national unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in August, down from 8.3 percent the previous month

Jobless data shows almost 452,000 people in North Carolina who want to work but don't have jobs.

Elections for president, governor, Congress, the state legislature and other positions are in less than a month.