SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California's unemployment rate fell slightly in October, to 11.7 percent, from 11.9 percent a month earlier, as the state added jobs in construction, education, health services and leisure and hospitality, the state Employment Development Department said Friday.

The rate has hovered above 12 percent for months and has been stuck above 11 percent since 2009. California's is the second highest in the nation, behind Nevada, which had a rate of 13.4 percent in September, the most recent data available.

Still, the October numbers are an improvement from a year ago, when its unemployment rate was 12.5 percent.

EDD said the state added 25,700 jobs in October — a large number considering the United States added a total of 80,000 jobs in the same period.

The national unemployment rate also dropped slightly to 9 percent in October.

About 495,000 people continue to receive unemployment insurance benefits in California, and nearly 69,000 new claims were received in October.