GALLIPOLIS - Unemployment rates in southern Ohio counties were either down slightly or stable in March, the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services reported.

County-by-county data was released by the ODJFS on Tuesday, revealing that jobless rates in Gallia and Meigs counties were down from February.

In March, Gallia County's joblessness was put at 6.4 percent, down two-tenths of a percent from the 6.6 percent posted in February. Meigs County, which came in at 10.7 percent in February, dropped five-tenths of a percent to 10.2 percent the following month.

Lawrence County's rate was down by five-tenths of a percent, from 5.4 percent in February to 4.9 percent in March. Vinton County fell by three-tenths of a percent, from 8.8 percent to 8.5 percent, and Washington County saw its rate fall from 5.9 percent in February to 5.5 percent in March, a drop of four-tenths of a percent.

Unemployment rose one-tenth of a percent in Athens County, from 5.9 percent in February to 6 percent the following month. Jackson County's jobless rate was unchanged from February at 8.4 percent.

The state says Ohio's unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in March, up from 5.3 percent in February.

Initial figures released last week show that the number of unemployed workers in March was 344,000, up from 316,000 in February. The number of unemployed workers has increased by 15,000 in the past year.

The rate this March was up from 5.5 percent a year earlier.

The state's 5.7 percent figure tops the national rate of 5.1 percent.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services says Ohio continued to feel the effects of a weaker economy in March. Overall, losses in goods-producing industries overshadowed smaller gains in the service-providing industries.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)