Highlands County saw a drop of seven-tenths of a percent in the local unemployment rate for December. It was noted that 3,548 of the county’s workforce of 45,691 were without a job. Attributing to the downturn in unemployment were the return of seasonal citrus harvesting jobs and business staffing for the holidays.

The numbers were nearly 2 percent lower than December 2011 when the unemployment rate in Highlands County was 9.6 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.