Minnesota’s economy isn’t getting worse — but it’s not really getting better, either.

That was the message Thursday from the state employment commissioner, who announced that Minnesota’s unemployment rate for December — 7.4 percent — was the same as in November. A hoped-for spike in retail jobs didn’t materialize, and the average number of days worked per week fell after increasing for several months in a row.

“Recoveries can be bumpy. There’s not always a straight line,” said Dan McElroy, the state commissioner of employment and economic development.

Still, McElroy and Steve Hine, the state’s director of labor market information, said they were heartened by several positive indicators: The number of new claims for state unemployment benefits shrank from the previous December, the first year-over-year drop since August 2008. The number of people looking for work also dropped from the previous month, for the first time since October 2007.

In addition, McElroy said his office has been monitoring Internet job boards and found the number of new employment postings to be growing. He said there are 21,000 jobs currently posted on a board maintained by his agency, a figure that was as low as about 8,000 last summer and fall.

But overall, McElroy and Hine said the December numbers were disappointing after a two-month period that saw the state add jobs. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in both November and December was 7.4 percent, compared to a 10 percent national unemployment rate in both months.

Several state employment sectors did add jobs in December: professional and business services, manufacturing, and logging and mining. Sectors that saw losses were retail; trade, transportation and utilities; and leisure and hospitality.

McElroy said that much like the national economy, Minnesota’s recession is “U-shaped rather than V-shaped” — featuring a slow progression along the bottom before an upswing, rather than a quick spike upward after a pronounced low point.

“We’re getting a wide view of the bottom,” McElroy said.