Cheyenne County, State Unemployment Rates Drops By Klark Byrd kbyrd@suntelegraph.com SIDNEY - In stark contrast to other signs of hope for the economy, employers nationwide slashed yet another 663,000 jobs in March as they scrambled to cut payroll costs. The U.S. Department of Labor on Friday announced that the national unemployment rate increased to 8.5 percent in March. According to Nebraska Workforce Development, Nebraska’s economy remains better than the national picture with an unemployment decrease that dropped it to 4.2 percent in February, down from 4.3 percent in January. Cheyenne County reported a decrease in unemployment to 4 percent in February from 4.1 percent in January. From December to January, Cheyenne County’s unemployment rate increased from 2.9 percent, according to NWD information. “Nebraska is a state with relatively low population as compared to its size,” said Labor Commissioner Catherine Lang. “It is unique in that a majority of the nearly 1.8 million residents, 64 percent are located in the far eastern portion of the state. Much of the state is rural so when a large company in a small community closes its doors, the effect on that area is profound. More than half, 56 percent, of layoffs have occurred outside of the two metropolitan statistical areas, Lincoln and Omaha.” The highest unemployment rate in the state went to Hooker County, which reported 8.1 percent unemployment. The second highest unemployment rate was in Blaine County with 8 percent. Nationally, March’s net job loss is yet another steep payroll reduction as seen in prior months, according to figures released Friday. The economy lost 681,000 jobs in December, 655,000 in January, and 651,000 in February. Officials in Washington said that 3.3 million jobs have been lost in the past five months, more than half of the 5.1 million lost since the beginning of the recession in December 2007. The Federal Reserve expects the national unemployment rate to crest near 8.8 percent, but some economists say it will rise above 10 percent — a wrenching forecast for the 13.2 million people in the United States who are currently unemployed.