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RALEIGH (AP) — The state's unemployment rate dropped a fraction in December to 9.9 percent, sliding just out of the double-digit range for the first time since June, the state Commerce Department said today

It was the third straight month that the state's jobless rate had dropped. It was 10 percent in November.

The state's unemployment rate is now almost down to the level where it stood a year ago. It was 9.8 percent in December 2010.

The state's rate is still higher than the national average of 8.5 percent.

The number of people on North Carolina's unemployment rolls fell by 5,193 while the number of those with jobs increased by 9,532 to more than four million.

The results mean that the total number of jobs in North Carolina stayed essentially flat through 2011, said John Quinterno of South by North Strategies, a Chapel Hill economic policy research firm.

"December's job market performance was a disappointing end to a disappointing year," he said.

A monthly survey of businesses found private companies cut employment by 5,900 in December, but the number of people drawing paychecks since the same month last year grew by 29,400, the Commerce Department's labor analysis division said. Leisure and hospitality businesses added the most jobs since December 2010 — 11,800, the agency said.

Workers who had jobs also were being paid more in December, a sign that employers may face pressure to hire more. The average hourly wage for manufacturing workers increased by 30 cents to $16.50 in December, while the statewide weekly average pay grew by $12.45 to $684.75, the state agency said.

But North Carolina would have to create 16,000 jobs each month for three years to restore employment to the level that preceded the recession that started in late 2007, said Alexandra Sirota, director of the liberal-leaning North Carolina Budget and Tax Center.

"There continues to be too few jobs for the state's workforce," she said. "The result is ongoing high numbers of unemployed workers, workers out of work for longer, and slow growth in the labor force overall."