RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – North Carolina’s unemployment rate remained unchanged in June, staying at 8.8 percent.

But state Department of Commerce figures show that employers in North Carolina dropped nearly 11,000 jobs from May to June. The state’s unemployment rate had dropped for four straight months after slow improvement in the economy.

The national unemployment rate had also remained unchanged at 7.6 percent.

The number of people employed in North Carolina has increased by more than 29,000 in the past year, but there are still nearly 417,000 listed as unemployed.