CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina’s unemployment rate for November was 7.4 percent—that’s a drop of 0.6 percent from October’s rate of 8.0 percent, according to seasonally adjusted figures released Friday by the N.C. Department of Commerce.

This continues the downward trend in the unemployment rate for the Tar Heel State in recent months.

North Carolina’s November 2013 unemployment rate was 2.0 percentage points lower than a year ago.

The number of people employed increased during the month of November by more than 20,000 – putting the total to more than 4.3 million employed. The number of people unemployed decreased by just over 28,100 during November—bringing the total number of unemployed people to more than 344,000. That statistic has fallen by more than 101,000 over the course of 2013.

The national rate decreased to 7.0 percent from October’s 7.3 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.