IRON MOUNTAIN — The Upper Peninsula jobless rate dipped to 6% in March, down from 6.2% in February and 6.6% a year ago, according to data released by the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics.

“Michigan regions demonstrated positive labor market trends over the month,” said Wayne Rourke, the center’s labor market information director. Gains were reported in both employment and total workforce, he said.

The U.P. showed a civilian labor force of 139,600 in March, which was 900 more than in February and up 3,200 since March 2023. There were 8,400 U.P. workers unemployed in March, down from 9,000 a year ago.

Dickinson County was an exception in the U.P., at least for one month, as its not seasonally adjusted jobless rate climbed to 5% in March, its highest since 5.1% in July 2021.

The February jobless rate in Dickinson County was 4.1%, while the rate in March 2023 was 4.3%. There were 12,368 workers in the labor force in March, including 613 unemployed.

In February, the labor force in Dickinson County had totaled 12,289, with 501 jobless. March 2023 figures showed 537 unemployed in a labor force of 12,578.

Iron County’s jobless rate in March was 6.7%, down from 7.1% in February and 7% a year ago. The March labor force totaled 4,867, with 327 jobless. A year ago, the labor force had numbered 4,881, with 343 out of work.

Michigan’s construction sector exhibited the largest over-the-month numerical job gain, with employment rising by 4,000 since February, Rourke said. Over the month, the state’s not seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell by 0.3 percentage points to reach 3.9%.

Michigan’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate was constant at 3.9% between February and March. The national jobless rate dipped by 0.1 percentage points to 3.8%.

Over the year, the national rate increased by 0.3 percentage points while Michigan’s rate rose 0.2 percentage points.

Menominee County had the lowest unemployment rate in the U.P. in March at 4.1%, followed by Marquette County, 4.6%, and Houghton County, 4.7%.

Mackinac County had the highest jobless rate in both the region and the state at 17.8%.

Seventy-six of Michigan’s 83 counties exhibited jobless rate reductions over the month, with a median decrease of 0.4 percentage points, Rourke said. Over the year, unemployment rates declined in 75 counties.

In Wisconsin, Florence County’s March unemployment rate of 4.7% was up from 3.7% in February and 3.8% a year ago, according to the Department of Workforce Development. Marinette County’s jobless rate of 5% in March compared with 4.8% in February and 4.3% in March 2023.