(Harrisburg) -- The state's most recent unemployment numbers show signs of improvement across the commonwealth. Central Pennsylvania also saw a slight drop in the number of people looking for work. The statewide unemployment rate for December is 7.6 percent -- down from 7.9 percent in November. Analysts attribute the improvement to holiday retail hiring and seasonal work at the area's warehouses. The midstate's best jobless numbers came in the so-called Lebanon Metropolitan Statistical area, which saw unemployment dip to an even six percent. The three-tenths of a percentage point drop tied the Juniata County labor market area and the Sunbury micropolitain statistical area for the biggest employment gain in the region. The Pottsville area's jobless rate is the midstate's highest at 9.2 percent. The Harrisburg-Carlisle area's unemployment fell two-tenths of a percent to 6.9 percent. The Lancaster, Chambersburg and Gettysburg areas were unchanged at 6.6 percent. York-Hanover's numbers also held steady at 7.7 percent.