DeKalb County's unemployment rate for February dipped slightly from the reported January rate.

The February rate was reported at 7.8 percent, down 1.2 percent from the January rate of 8.6 percent and from the 2014 rate of 8.3 percent in February.

The county’s labor force was estimated at 7,090 for the month, with 6,540 employed and 550 looking for work.

In surrounding counties, Cannon County had a 6.0 percent rate for the month, Putnam’s was at 6.4 percent, and Smith had a 6.2 percent rate. Warren County’s rate was at 6.4 percent, White’s was at 7.0 percent, and Wilson County had a 5.1 percent rate for February.

County unemployment rates for February show rates decreased in all 95 counties.

Davidson County enjoyed the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate for the month at 4.8 percent, down from 5.4 percent in January. Knox County was at 5.1 percent in February, down from 5.7 percent the previous month. The Hamilton County February rate was at 5.9 percent, down from 6.6 percent in January. Shelby County was at 7.2 percent in February, down from 8.1 percent the previous month. Tennessee’s preliminary unemployment rate for February was at 6.6 percent, one-tenth of one percentage point lower than the January revised rate of 6.7 percent. The U.S. preliminary rate for February was at 5.5 percent, down two-tenths of one percentage point from the prior month.

Specific county information for January is available on the Internet; enter http://www.tn.gov/labor-wfd/labor_figures/LaborJAN2015.pdf. The state and national unemployment rates are seasonally adjusted, while the county unemployment rates are not. Seasonal adjustment is a statistical technique that eliminates the influences of weather, holidays, the opening and closing of schools, and other recurring seasonal events from economic time series.