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Unemployment declined last month to 7.5 percent in metropolitan Chattanooga, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development reported today.

In the six-county Chattanooga metro area, the local jobless rate last month was 0.6 percent less than the comparable U.S. rate in February. A year ago, Chattanooga's jobless rate was 7.6 percent.

In the Chattanooga region, the jobless rate was lowest during February in Catoosa County at 6.3 percent and highest in the area in Murray County, Ga., at 11.7 percent.

The Hamilton County jobless rate in February, 7.7 percent, was down 0.3 percent from the previous month but up 0.1 percent from a year ago.