March unemployment goes down

The March unemployment rate in St. Joseph County, and one of its neighboring counties, was lower than the rate in February.

The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget was released last week.

St. Joseph County’s 4.9 percent unemployment rate for March was down from 5.2 percent the previous month.

Meanwhile, Cass County experienced a drop from 5.5 percent in February to 5.2 percent in March.

The only increase in area unemployment figures was in Branch County, which went from 4.9 percent in February to 5 percent a month later.

Michigan’s unemployment rate for March was 5.2 percent, one-tenth of a percent increase from February.