(LANSING) – April jobless rates were down around Southwest Michigan from one month ago.

Data released by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, shows the largest drop in the area was in Cass County, which went from 5.2 percent in March to 4.3 percent in April. That's a decrease of nine-tenths of a percent.

St. Joseph County saw their unemployment rate go from 4.9 percent to 4.3 percent in April, which is a drop of three-tenths of a percent.

Branch County dropped a half a percent from an even 5 percent in March to 4.5 percent in April. Hillsdale County went from 5.4 percent in March to 4.8 percent in April., which is a reduction of six-tenths of a percent.

Statewide the unemployment rate was 4.6 percent in April. That's down from 5.2 percent in March, a drop of six-tenths of a percent. One year ago the statewide unemployment rate was 23.6 percent.

Wayne Rourke, Associate Director of the Bureau of Labor Market
Information and Strategic Initiatives says jobless rates in Michigan regions have dropped very sharply since April 2020, which was the peak of COVID-19 pandemic layoffs. Rourke says despite these improvements, jobless rates still remain above 2019 levels.