Ellington

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi's unemployment rate ticked down to 8.3 percent in November, as the state's economy continued to progress slowly.

A separate survey shows state employer payrolls also rising.

Both sets of figures — adjusted to cancel out normal seasonal changes — were released Friday by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

It's the lowest state jobless rate since January 2009, a point when the jobless rolls were surging.

Mississippi's unemployment rate was 8.5 percent in October. The state jobless rate was 9 percent in November 2012.

The labor force fell by about 2,000 people.

107,000 Mississippians were unemployed in November, down from 109,000 in October and 120,000 in November 2012

State nonfarm payrolls rose by 2,000 people from October, and are about 20,000 above year-ago levels.