MONTPELIER — Vermont’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage points in January to 4.7 percent, the state Department of Labor announced Monday.

It represents the sixth consecutive month without an increase in the unemployment rate.

Vermont was tied for the fourth lowest unemployment rate in the country.

The national unemployment rate in January was 7.9 percent.

“Vermont’s economic recovery during 2012 was actually stronger than first reported,” said Labor Commissioner Annie Noonan. “The 2012 annual rate for Vermont was 5 percent, which is one of the lowest in the country.”

She said that trend continued into 2013.

The seasonally adjusted Vermont data for January show the Vermont civilian labor force decreased by 800 from the prior month estimates; the number of employed decreased by 100; and the number of unemployed decreased by 700.

Unemployment rates for Vermont’s 17 labor market areas ranged from 3.1 percent in Warren-Waitsfield to 8.2 percent in Newport.

Rutland posted a January jobless rate of 5.6 percent, up 0.1 percentage point; Barre-Montpelier increased 1.3 points to 6 percent; Springfield was 5.6 percent, down 0.1 percentage point; Bennington, 6.5 percent, up 0.6 point; and Middlebury, 5.4 percent, up 0.4 point.

Local labor market area unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.