NC's unemployment rate drops as employers add jobs

The state unemployment rate in November was 7.4 percent. The national unemployment rate in December was 6.7 percent. 

The state's labor force shrank in December, falling 1,880, to 4,656,304. The number of people unemployed also fell during the month, down 21,097, to 322.689, officials said. 

About 4,333,615 were listed as employed in December, up nearly 20,000 since November 2013. 

"We continue to see that our pro-growth and pro-jobs policies enacted over the last year are having a positive impact and getting people into jobs," he said. "While this is welcome news, we will remain focused on policies that will encourage job growth – not just for the short-term, but for the long-term to sustain the progress we have made."

House speaker Thom Tillis also released a statement Tuesday morning, saying that the falling unemployment rate is more evidence that "our policies are helping North Carolinians get back to work."

"Federal jobs data shows that North Carolina's unemployment rate dropped further in one year than any other state in the nation," Tillis said. "We will continue to implement policies that will enable our citizens to get back to work."

Economists say the fast drop in the unemployment rate could be because so many people have become discouraged, are giving up on finding a job and are no longer being counted.

The state's population of working-age adults who are looking for jobs shrank by 111,000 in 2013.