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Virginia’s unemployment rate rose slightly in December as more people entered the labor market to look for work.

The state jobless rate was 4.2 percent in December, up one-tenth of a percentage point from a November rate that was revised downward by one-tenth of a percent to 4.1 percent, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Tuesday.

The rates have been adjusted for seasonal factors that might temporarily affect unemployment.

December’s slight month-over-month increase followed five consecutive months of decline in the state jobless rate. The rate fell from 4.9 percent in June 2015 to 4.1 percent in November.

Last month’s jobless rate was down from 4.8 percent in December 2014.

The slight uptick in the unemployment rate last month masks an otherwise very positive report, said Ann Macheras, vice president for research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

“That uptick, I think, is OK because the silver lining, to give it context, is that additional people were entering the workforce,” she said.

In December, the state’s labor force increased by 8,972, as about 7,782 more people reported working and 1,190 people entered the labor market seeking work.