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According to preliminary figures from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, it appears the jobs market for the 16 counties of Northeast Mississippi is getting better.

The combined unemployment rate for the region in March was 8.9 percent, a full percentage point lower than February's 9.9 percent.

The February figure was the first time the region's jobless rate had dipped below 10 percent since March 2009.

This March's 8.9 percent is the lowest jobless rate for Northeast Mississippi since November 2008, when the rate was 8.1 percent.

A year ago, the unemployment rate for the region was 11.2 percent.

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Read more in Thursday's Daily Journal.