RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina's unemployment rEmained at 5 percent for a second straight month in August, the state announced Friday.

The

Employment Security Commission of North Carolina

said August marked the the sixth straight month the state has been below the national average. Last month's rate was nearly half a percentage point below the U.S. average of 5.4 percent.

The state gained jobs in education (6,800), leisure and hospitality (2,900), construction (2,900) and professional and business services (2,200), among other sectors, the state said.

Total seasonally adjusted unemployment was 207,796, down 4,418 forn the month, and a drop of 69,686 for the year.

Unemployment rates in North Carolina climbed to 6 percent in February and have fluctuated since, to 5.2 percent in March, 5.3 percent in April and May, 5.5 percent in June, and 5 percent in July and August.