DES MOINES — Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for December was unchanged at 4.9 percent. The current rate is seven-tenths of a percentage point lower than the year ago rate of 5.6 percent. The U.S. jobless rate for December was also the same as the prior month, remaining at 7.8 percent.

“The modest pace of job growth in 2012 managed to drop the state’s unemployment rate below 5.0 percent in the final months of the year,” said Teresa Wahlert, director of Iowa Workforce Development. “The December data also reflected a stronger hiring pattern in construction, which was reflected in both monthly and annual job gains.”

The number of unemployed Iowans decreased slightly to 80,000 in December from 80,200 in November. The level stood at 93,400 one year ago.