Lubbock's unemployment rate remained at 5.4 percent in November, according to Texas Workforce Commission figures.

However, the Lubbock-Crosby metropolitan statistical area lost its lowest-in-the-state position to Amarillo, where the jobless rate fell to 5.3 percent.

An estimated 7,700 people are jobless in Lubbock and Crosby counties, down 100 from a month ago. The Lubbock-Crosby unemployment rate in November 2008 was 3.9 percent, with an estimated 5,600 people out of work.

According to the report, employment in most sectors of the local job market remained flat. The largest net job loss came in the government sector. Lubbock's federal payroll gained 300 jobs largely on Census Bureau hires in advance of the 2010 national canvass.

"Our trends from year to year have remained relatively the same for the Lubbock MSA regarding unemployment rates, with only slight increases through this national economic downturn," said Terri Patterson, director of workforce development for the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance.

"Further, Lubbock has the second lowest unemployment rate in the state, and has been No. 1."