(Bloomberg) -- Payrolls climbed in 35 states and theunemployment rate fell in 27 states as an improving economycontinued to absorb slack in the U.S. labor market last month.

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Florida led the nation with a 35,200 gain in employment inNovember, followed by a 16,300 increase in Texas, figures from theLabor Department showed Friday.

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“The labor market is probably one of the most encouraging partsof the recovery,” said Kevin Cummins, an economist at RBSSecurities Inc. in Stamford, Connecticut. “You’re always going toget times when certain areas of the country are stronger thanothers, but as a whole, the economy is very healthy.”

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Vermont showed the biggest percentage gain in employment lastmonth with a 0.9 percent advance, followed by Idaho at 0.7 percent.Nevada saw the biggest percentage decrease.

The biggest statistically significant decrease in theunemployment rate occurred in West Virginia, where joblessness fellby 0.4 percentage point to 6.5 percent in November. Illinois showedthe largest increase in unemployment, with the rate climbing to 5.7percent from 5.4 percent.

North Dakota had the lowest jobless rate in the U.S. at 2.7percent in November, while New Mexico had the highest at 6.8percent.

State and local employment data are derived independently fromthe national statistics, which are typically released on the firstFriday of every month.

The state figures are subject to larger sampling errors becausethey come from smaller surveys, thus making the national figuresmore reliable, according to the government’s Bureau of LaborStatistics.

That report, released on Dec. 4, showed that the U.S. added211,000 workers to payrolls in November, helped by gains in theconstruction, retail and health-care sectors, after an increase of298,000 the month before.

The jobless rate held at a more than seven-year low of 5percent.

A solid labor market was one of the factors that encouraged theFederal Reserve this week to raise its benchmark interest rate forthe first time in almost a decade.

Wednesday’s quarter- point increase in borrowing costs was theculmination of a year- long effort by the Fed to prepare investors,consumers and companies for the end of an unprecedented era ofultra-easy money.

While there remain risks to growth from the global markets, “theU.S. economy has shown considerable strength,” Fed Chair JanetYellen said in a press conference after the conclusion of thecentral bank’s meeting. “The labor market has clearly shownsignificant further improvement toward our objective of maximumemployment.”

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