CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Virginia’s unemployment rate remained unchanged from September to November, holding a 3.5%, according to the Commonwealth’s Department of Workforce Development and Advancement, Virginia Works.

That is 1.1 points lower than the national rate, which grew .2% to 4.6 in November.

Virginia saw growth in both private sector and government employment in November, with 8,600 total new jobs, per the release. The biggest decrease came in the loss of 200 federal government positions.

Last week, Virginia Works announced that there 37.1% fewer new unemployment claims filed during the week ending Dec. 27 than the previous week. Continuing weekly claims were also 2.5% lower than the week before