AUGUSTA – Maine’s unemployment rate dropped by 0.2 percent in January as the number of people in the state’s labor force declined, state Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman said Thursday.

Preliminary figures released by the department said the jobless rate was 4.5 percent, a decrease from the revised 4.7 percent rate in December. January’s rate was also 0.2 points lower than the January 2005 rate of 4.7 percent.

The figures are adjusted to reflect seasonal fluctuations in the labor market.

Fortman said the lower January figure resulted from a decline in the number of people active in the labor force, with both unemployment and the number of Maine residents employed falling. Between December and January, the number of unemployed Maine residents fell by 1,500, while the number of employed Maine residents declined by 700.

The other two northern New England states reported lower unemployment rates in January than Maine. New Hampshire’s seasonally adjusted rate was 3.4 percent and Vermont’s was 3.4 percent.

Connecticut reported 4.6 percent, Massachusetts 4.6 percent and Rhode Island 4.7 percent. The adjusted national rate for January was 4.7 percent.