Vermont's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for December dipped one-tenth of a percent from the prior month to 5.1 percent, the state Department of Labor reported Friday.

The national unemployment rate for December was 7.8 percent.

"The Vermont economy had a strong ending to 2012," Labor Commissioner Annie Noonan said in a statement. "The preliminary estimate of the annual 2012 unemployment rate is 5 percent, more than a full half of a percent lower than 2011."

Noonan said that the state gained 3,000 jobs last year.

She went on to say that while the "economic recovery, nationally and on the state level, has been slower than prior recessions" the 2012 data point to an improved economy.

"We are optimistic that economic growth will continue in Vermont as businesses and job seekers gain confidence," she said.