Unemployment in Minnesota has stayed on a rather stable trend in recent months.  The state Department of Employment and Economic Development says October jobless rates have dropped since 2009, a sign of some economic improvement.  The western half of the state continued to stay well below the state's seven-point-one-percent unemployment rate.  Northwestern Minnesota came in at just four-point-seven-percent.  But other northern Minnesota jobless rates are still over the statewide average and east-central Minnesota topped all, at eight percent.  Southern Minnesota maintained six-percent or less unemployment.  One thing for those seeking work to consider as 2010 soon comes to close -- there are fewer jobs out there this time of year.