The unemployment rate has dropped from the second month in a row down to 11.3 percent for April, according to the latest statistics from the North Carolina Employment Security Commission.

According to Bobbi Wessling, manager of the ESC in Mount Airy, the rate is dropping due to both an increase in jobs and in the number of people who have exhausted their unemployment benefits.

While the unemployment rate in Surry County has been as high as 13 percent, she said the rate dropped to 12.2 in March.

“We have seen an increase in job orders and we certainly hope that is a trend that will continue,” Wesling said.

She said jobs have been created in the manufacturing and medical sectors. She said some of the jobs are coming from new companies in the area or companies such as Harvest Time bread company expanding their workforce. She said the demand for certified nursing assistants is up right now. Government jobs also are on the rise.

Wesling said she hopes unemployment numbers continue to decline.

“It’s been a gradual decline and we are hoping that it continues in that direction,” she said.

Statewide, the unemployment rate dropped to 10.8 percent in April. The rate had been 11.1 percent in March.