Unemployment rate falls to 5.9 percent in Rhode Island, first time below 6 percent since 2007

State officials say the unemployment rate in Rhode Island fell to 5.9 percent in May.

It's the first time the state's unemployment rate has been below 6 percent since 2007.

The state Department of Labor and Training on Thursday says the unemployment rate last month dropped two-tenths of a percentage point from April, when it was 6.1 percent.

The unemployment rate nationally in May was 5.5 percent.

Officials say the number of unemployed Rhode Island residents who are actively seeking employment fell to 33,100. That's more than 10,000 fewer than a year ago at this time.

The number of employed residents was around 523,000, up 12,000 from May 2014.