AUGUSTA — The Maine Department of Labor says the preliminary jobless rate for January was 7.5 percent, unchanged from the revised figure for December.

Officials say the figure dropped nearly 1 percentage point from a level of 8.4 percent a year ago. The total number of unemployed was 52,300, down 6,300 from a year ago.

The labor department says Maine’s unemployment rate was lower than the national average of 9 percent and the regional average 8.2 percent. New England’s jobless rate ranged from 11.3 percent in Rhode Island to 5.6 percent in New Hampshire.