ATLANTA (AP) — State labor officials say Georgia's unemployment rate dropped to 7.7 percent in November, its lowest mark since November 2008.

The Georgia Department of Labor announced the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate on Thursday.

The November rate is down a full percentage point from 8.7 percent in November a year ago.

The jobless rate is down because of strong job growth in Georgia and a significant drop in new claims for unemployment insurance benefits, state Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said. He said the number of new jobs represents the best October-to-November growth since 2007. Also, the number of new claims is the lowest for any month since September 2007.

"The November to November job growth is the strongest for that period in eight years," Butler said in a statement. "The growth came in several industries, which indicates a broad job market recovery."

The overall number of unemployed Georgians decreased to 363,055, down by 20,322 from 383,377 in October. That's the fewest unemployed Georgians since October 2008, when there were 346,852, state officials said.