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Unemployment rate up slightly for March
unemployment map

The unemployment rate in DeKalb County rose slightly in March.
The rate took a slight upturn to 8.2 percent, up from 8 percent in February.
The figure is also up from 8.1 percent in March 2012.
DeKalb reported a local labor force for  of 9,690 for the month.
A total of 8,900 people in the county were employed, and 790 found themselves looking for work.
In surrounding counties, Cannon reported a 6.5 percent rate for March, White County came in at 11.7 percent, Warren saw a 9.6 percent rate, and Wilson had a rate of 6.6 percent for the month.
Smith County reported a March rate of  7.9 percent, Putnam’s rate came in at 7.5 percent, Jackson County had a 9.6 percent rate, and Van Buren’s rate was 12.1 percent.
Clay County had a 10.6 percent rate for the month, Cumberland County came in at 10 percent, Overton was at 9.5 percent, and Macon County reported a 7.4 rate for March.
Unemployment rates by county for March show the rate decreased in 58 counties, increased in 24, and stayed the same in 13.
Knox County had the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate of 6.2 percent, down from 6.4 percent in February. Davidson County rate of 6.3 percent was unchanged from February.
Hamilton County was 7.7 percent, up from 7.6 percent in the previous month. Shelby County was 9.5 percent, up from 9.3 percent in February.
The state’s unemployment rate for March was at 7.9 percent, a small increase from the February revised rate of 7.8 percent.
The national unemployment rate for March 2013 was 7.6 percent, decreasing by one-tenth of one percentage point from the previous month.
The state unemployment rate is 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.