BOGOTA, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Colombia"s urban jobless rate rose to 16.8% in October, from 10.4% in the same month of 2019, the government statistics agency said on Monday, based on surveys in the 13 biggest cities. The national unemployment rate was 14.7%, up from 9.8% a year earlier, the DANE agency said. More than five months of national coronavirus lockdown earlier this year shuttered thousands of businesses across the country. The government expects economic contraction of 6.8% this year. The urban jobless rate is more closely watched by financial markets than the national figure. Nearly 70% of the workforce is in large cities. Unemployment figures are not seasonally adjusted and can be volatile, usually depending on factors like peak shopping periods and vacation months. For the full report go to: here Urban National Unemployment Unemployment October 16.8 14.7 September 18.3 15.8 August 19.6 16.8