Unemployment ticked down this month in the city, the area and the state—and all three rates remain well below that of the national average.

Just 6.6 percent of Boston residents who are ready and willing to work were without jobs in August, according to data released this week by the state's department of Labor and Workforce Development.

That puts the city's rate above that of both the area and the state, but still well below that of the United States average.

Nationally, the unemployment rate ticked down to 8.1 percent, but the national unemployment rate has stubbornly remained between 8 and 8.5 percent since January.