(RALEIGH) -- North Carolina's unemployment rate dropped slightly in November from a month earlier as the state gained nearly 35,000 new jobs.

The state Commerce Department released figures Friday showing that the rate dropped to 9.1 percent from 9.3 percent in October.

Larry Parker with the Commerce Department says manufacturing is trying to make a comeback. "After North Carolina lost so much of that textile and furniture, if you will, I think there was some focus on other types of manufacturing," he said. "Food manufacturing is in North Carolina and that's probably the biggest sector of manufacturing now."

The figures show a significant improvement from the same time one year ago, when unemployment was 10.4 percent. The state still trails the national rate, which was 7.7 percent in November.