Santa Clarita’s December unemployment rate fell by nearly 1 full point on the year, coming in at 5.3 percent versus 6.2 percent in December 2012. It was also a 0.4-point improvement on the month, compared to November 2013’s rate of 5.7 percent.

All of Los Angeles County showed similar results, improving to 9.2 percent from 10.3 percent in December 2012 and 9.5 percent in November 2013.

Joblessness across California fell to 8.3 percent in December from 9.8 percent one year earlier (8.5 percent in November 2013), while the nation’s jobless rate fell to 6.7 percent in December from 7.8 percent in December 2012 and 7 percent in November 2013.

Making the biggest month-over-month job gains across Los Angeles County was the retail trade subsector. Merchants ramped up for the holidays, hiring 3,700 full- or part-time workers.

The county’s government sector grew, too, with public education making the biggest gains (1,900 jobs).

Month-over-month losers in L.A. County were the motion picture business (down 3,400 jobs) and manufacturing (down 2,700). Construction shrank by 2,300 jobs, mostly among specialty trade contractors (down 1,700).

Year over year, jobs in Los Angeles County grew by 1.2 percent, with professional and business services adding the most (17,800). Within the sector, restaurants and bars added 17,500 jobs, but they were offset by losses of 16,100 jobs in the leisure and hospitality industries. Most of the  net job gains in professional services came from the employment services subsector (up 12,100).

Private education and (mostly) health services added a combined 9,400 jobs on the year.