NORWICH – Chenango County’s 8.2 percent unemployment rate in December edged closer to matching a record 8.3 percent, set back in 1994, and exceeded both the state’s and the nation’s for a second month in a row.

According to data released Thursday by the state Labor Department, of the county’s 24,500 resident labor force, 2,000 people were unemployed last month, 400 more than in November.

The county lost 200 private sector jobs throughout 2008. Most of the jobs lost in December were in the leisure and hospitality sectors while jobs lost through the year were in the service and trade, transportation and utilities industries.