DeKALB – DeKalb County’s streak of lower year-over-year unemployment continued in December.

Although December’s unemployment rate of 7.7 percent rose from 7.3 percent in November, it still was better than the December 2011 rate of 8.4 percent. Norman Kelewitz, an analyst with the Illinois Department of Employment Security, said December was the 13th consecutive month of year-over-year declines in unemployment for the county.

“The economy has been improving,” Kelewitz said. “The labor market has been getting better.”