The unemployment rate is improving in Mecosta County.

The Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget says unemployment dropped by nearly 20 percent for the month of August bringing the yearly rate down by about 7.5 percent.

In August, all West Michigan non-metro counties saw jobless rate reductions. Every county had a monthly rate drop of at least -0.5 percentage points. The largest rate decreases were felt in Osceola County (-1.3 percentage points), Lake County (-1.1 percentage points), and Ionia and Mecosta counties (-1.0 percentage points).

These rate cuts reflected sharp double-digit percent reductions in the number of unemployed, generally due to fewer summer and seasonal jobseekers. Over the year, all counties experienced jobless rate reductions between -0.1 and -1.0 percentage points.