NASHVILLE (AP) — The March unemployment rate in Tennessee has dropped .01 percent to 7.9 percent, the eighth straight month of decline.

Karla Davis, commissioner of Labor & Workforce Development, said Thursday it's the lowest rate since November 2008.

The national figure for March was 8.2 percent, down 0.1 percent from February.

Davis said the state lost jobs in March, but the number of unemployed declined at a faster rate.