The Wilmington area’s unemployment rate dropped in February, according to state figures released Wednesday.
 
The Wilmington area, which includes New Hanover and Pender counties, saw an unemployment rate of 4.8 percent in February, compared to 5.3 percent in December and 5.7 percent in February 2016, the state Commerce Department reported.
 
Across the state, the rates, which are not seasonally adjusted, decreased in every county between January and February.
 
New Hanover County had the lowest jobless rate in February for the region at 4.7 percent, compared to 5.5 percent a year earlier.
 
February’s jobless rate in Brunswick County was 6.7 percent, compared to 7.8 percent in February 2016.
 
And Pender County’s rate was 5.2 percent, also down from 6.3 percent a year before.
 
The state’s unemployment rate for February stood at 5 percent – half a percentage point under January’s figure and also lower than 5.3 percent in February 2016, the N.C. Commerce Department reported.