The unemployment rate for February fell to a four-year low. The economy added 236,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate dropped from 7.9 to 7.7 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"The unemployment rate edged down to 7.7 percent in February but has shown little movement, on net, since September 2012," according to the bureau. "The number of unemployed persons, at 12.0 million, also edged lower in February."
The rate fell partially because more people found jobs, but also because some people stopped looking for jobs. About 130,000 people dropped out of the labor force, according to CNN Money.
In February, the number of long-term unemployed—people who are jobless for 27 weeks or more—was nearly unchanged at 4.8 million. These people accounted for 40.2 percent of the unemployed.
Among the major worker groups, unemployment for white workers declined to 6.8 percent.
But other demographics remained mostly the same. The rate for adult men is 7.1 percent. It's 7 percent for adult women and 25.1 percent for teenagers.
The unemployment rate for blacks is 13.8 percent, 9.6 percent for Hispanics and 6.1 percent for Asians, according to the bureau.
Economists with CNN Money had estimated that the economy would add 170,000 jobs and that the unemployment rate would fall to 7.8 percent.
Tennessee's unemployment rate is currently 7.6 percent.
