The New England unemployment rate was 5.9 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday.

The region’s jobless rate for the month was a substantial decline from the August 2013 rate of 7.2 percent but slightly up from its jobless rate in July of this year when it was 5.8 percent. The national unemployment rate in August was recorded at 6.1 percent; in the Bay State, it was 5.8 percent.

Vermont and New Hampshire recorded the lowest jobless rates in the region at 4.1 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively. Rhode Island, at 7.7 percent, had the highest unemployment rate in the region and the third-highest unemployment rate in the nation.

New England is one of nine geographic divisions nationwide. In August, the East South Central division, which includes Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee, had the highest jobless rate at 7.3 percent. The West North Central division, which includes Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, again had the lowest unemployment rate, 4.8 percent.