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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WACH, AP) -- South Carolina's unemployment rate has improved for the fourth straight month, dropping to 9.8 percent in April.

The state Department of Employment and Workforce reported Friday the state has added 11,700 jobs from March, when the unemployment rate was 9.9 percent. The state has added more than 16,000 in the past year.

"This is just another reason to celebrate what’s happening in South Carolina," Governor Nikki Haley said in a release.  "We’ve now seen four straight months of declining unemployment with over 7,000 new jobs announced. Every day our team is selling South Carolina, and it’s an easy sell. Business leaders across this state and nation know that we will fight to keep our state a competitive and hospitable environment to bring and expand jobs."

All sectors showed job increases for the month except education and government.

"I am encouraged that the South Carolina employment landscape appears to have turned the corner," said SC Department of Employment and Workforce Executive Director John Finan in a release.

The national jobless rate for April was 9 percent.

South Carolina's unemployment rate has decreased steadily from a peak of 12.5 percent in January 2010.

Marion County continued to have the highest jobless rate at 18.7 percent. Lexington County continued to have the lowest rate at 7.3 percent

Click here to see the entire report from SCDEW.

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(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)