Suffolk’s unemployment rate is continuing a downward trend, dipping below 6 percent in December for the first time in four years, early federal government data shows.

Unemployment in the city dropped to 5.9 percent from 6.2 percent in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The bureau has adjusted the final November rate up slightly after earlier reporting 6.1 percent. It was still a decrease from the prior month, which reported an unemployment rate of 6.4.

Despite the rapid fall, Suffolk’s unemployment rate has yet to return to its December 2008 level of 5.2 percent.

Suffolk’s unemployment rate has the potential to get even better in coming months, as Gov. Bob McDonnell is expected to visit the city Monday for an economic development announcement. Details of the news have not been released, but the governor’s presence likely means quite a few jobs.

U.S. unemployment, which the bureau reports ahead of local figures, dropped to 7.7 percent in February, with the addition of 236,000 non-farm jobs, it was announced Friday.