The jobless rate in New Hampshire is holding steady, while the number of new claims for unemployment insurance has declined, according to the state of Employment Security department.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for September was 5.7 percent, unchanged from August, which remained at 5.7 percent after adjustments. The September 2011 seasonally adjusted rate was 5.4 percent.

Seasonally adjusted estimates for September 2012 placed the number of employed residents at 696,770, an increase of 650 from the previous month but a decrease of 1,700 from September 2011.

There were 3,769 claims for unemployment insurance compensation in September, down from 4,597 in August and 5,391 in June.

The number of unemployed residents increased by 120 in September, to 42,010, an increase of 1,780 compared to September 2011.

Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for September was 7.8 percent, a decrease of 0.3 percentage points from the August rate and a decrease of 1.2 percentage points from the September 2011 rate.

The unemployment rate in New Hampshire has been above 5 percent since January 2009, peaking at 6.7 percent in January 2010.