February unemployment rate unchanged

The February unemployment rate in St. Joseph County was unchanged compared to a month earlier.
The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed St. Joseph County’s 3.7 percent February unemployment rate was equal to the figure posted for January.
February’s unemployment rate, however, was 1.1 percent less than the same month a year earlier, when the figure was 4.8 percent.
St. Joseph County remained well below the state unemployment average, which was 5 percent in February.
The agency said the steady rate can be attributed to a cut in seasonal construction-related jobs, but a small increase in employment in the education sector created an employment balance for the month.
At 3.6 percent, Kalamazoo County had the region’s lowest unemployment rate in January, while Van Buren County had the highest, at 6.4 percent.