ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – Missouri’s unemployment rate remained unchanged in October, according to a report released this morning.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development figures show the state with a 6.9 percent unemployment rate, a full point below the national average of 7.9 percent.

Missouri non-farm payrolls added 13,000 new jobs during the month of October, according to the DED report. For the year, the state has now added over 25,000 news jobs and just under 47,000 in 2011 and 2012 combined.

Overall, the state’s unemployment rate has now fallen nearly three percentage points since its recessionary peak of 9.7 percent and has been lower than the national unemployment rate for 38 straight months.