(LANSING) – Jobless rates around Southern Michigan went down from February to March.

The Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget says St. Joseph County saw their unemployment rate drop from 3.9 percent in February to 3.5 percent in March.

Hillsdale County had the largest drop in unemployment in the area, going from 5 percent to 4.1 percent. Branch County went from 4.3 percent in February to 3.7 percent in March. Cass County saw a decrease from 4.4 to 3.8 percent. .

The lowest unemployment rate in March was in Ottawa County at 3 percent, while the highest was in Mackinac County at 14.5 percent. Those figures are both lower than they were in February, when Ottawa County and Mackinaw Counties had the lowest and highest unemployment rates as well.

Statewide the unemployment rate went from 5.3 percent in February to 4.5 percent in March.

Wayne Rourke, Associate Director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives says March was characterized by seasonal jobless rate reductions across all regions and payroll job gains in most metro areas.