(LANSING) – Michigan's seasonally adjusted jobless rate dropped from 8.6 percent in September to 5.5 percent in October.

According to data released by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, that's the lowest jobless rate in the State since March.

The biggest gains from September to October were seen in Leisure and Hospitality Services (+1.9%) along with Professional and Business Services (+1%). The largest losses in employment were in Transportation Equipment (-4.1%) and in Natural Resources and Mining (-3.1%).

Wayne Rourke, Associate Director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, says Michigan's labor market continued to show some improvement during October. Despite a jobless rate decline over the month, Rourke says non farm jobs were still over 400,000 below pre-pandemic levels.

During the same time period, the national jobless rate fell by one full percentage point from 7.9 to 6.9 percent. Michigan's October jobless rate was 1.4 percentage points below the U.S. rate, even though for most of 2020 it was over the national average.