AUGUSTA (AP) — Maine’s jobless rate remains the lowest it has been in five years.

The Maine Department of Labor said Friday that the state’s unemployment rate fell to 6.1 percent in February, down slightly from 6.2 percent in January. The state’s jobless rate is down nearly 1 percent from one year ago.

The department says there were 6,000 fewer unemployed Mainers in February than one year ago and about 7,400 more private sector jobs, in areas like retail trade, education and health care.

Maine continues to beat the U.S. employment rate of 6.7 percent, which is also down about 1 percent from one year ago.