Orange County continues to hold the third best employment numbers in the state, according to number released by the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

And statewide, the unemployment rate is at 5.5 percent, as of December.

“Our unemployment rate, which was the fifth-highest in the nation just two years ago, has dropped substantially,” said Gov. Pat McCrory, delivering his State of the State address on Wednesday. “It’s the second-sharpest drop in the United States, in America, right here in North Carolina. Our economy is improving.”

Exactly two years earlier, the state’s unemployment rate was 9.5 percent, and 97 counties suffered an uptick in unemployment.

Things have changed. The Dept. of Commerce just reported that unemployment rates, not seasonally adjusted, dropped in 56 out of 100 North Carolina counties in December 2014.

The unemployment rate went up in 28 counties, and remained the same in 16 — including Orange, at 3.9 percent.

“Over the last year, every job sector except for government has had an increase,” said Division of Employment Security spokesperson Larry Parker. “We’ve gained back all of the jobs that we lost at the height of the recession.”

Back in December 2012, Orange County was far outperforming other counties, with an unemployment rate of only 5.9 percent. The second-best reported rate was in Buncombe, at 7.2 percent.

“Orange County is home to a lot of great types of businesses,” said Parker. “Schools, hospitals, and government-type jobs. So, the whole research area, Research Triangle Park area – this whole area between Durham, Orange and Wake County tends to have weathered the recession better than most counties in the state.”

At 3.9 percent, Orange County has now dropped to the No. 3 ranking of state unemployment numbers, from best down to worst. Graham County posted the worst numbers at 12.3 percent.

Chatham County was No. 1, with only 3.8 percent of unemployment, and Buncombe is now at No. 2.

Orange and Chatham contributed to the 4,300 jobs added over the past year in the Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area.

“This, again, is an area that tends to do very well,” said Parker. “And some of the sectors that did very well over the month were trade, transportation, utilities – leisure and hospitality had job gains.”

The next state unemployment update, for January, is scheduled to be released on March 17.