"Michigan's turning out to be the Tiger Woods among state economies," David Sowerby, chief economist with Beacon Investment Co. of Ann Arbor, said after the state released the figures yesterday.
"I don't know what it was back in 1902, (but) it is nothing short of spectacular for the state's economic winning streak."
The seasonally adjusted March rate is the lowest since the state started keeping those records in 1970, said Norm Isotalo, a spokesperson for the Michigan Employment Security Agency.
It compares with a rate of 4.5 percent in February and of 5.1 percent in March 1996, he said.
Gov. John Engler said the low rate, coupled with a continued decline in welfare caseloads, shows the state is on the right track and should stick with what's worked so far.
"It's just an indication of how strong the economy in Michigan is at the present time," he said. "It really does show what happens when everything is clicking."
David Littmann, vice president and senior economist at Comerica Bank, said the new number reflected a positive trend.
"The most impressive part of the statistic itself is looking at it a year ago. That confirms the strength of it," he said.
March's 4.3 percent also marks the 24th straight month that Michigan's unemployment has been lower than the nation's rate, which was 5.3 percent in February. National unemployment figures for March have yet to be released.
"The economy in Michigan continues to perform. Michigan has the auto industry, and the industry is doing very well," Isotalo said.
The improvement was credited to gains in retail trade and in the service sector, said acting MESA director Thomas Malek.
The service sector is a catch-all category that includes such jobs as some in the legal field, accounting, lawn services and health care, and makes up more than 1 million jobs in Michigan, Sowerby said.
"The positive forces are still in place, namely, low inflation, favorable productivity growth, an improved tax climate, and even the recent strength of the U.S. dollar still has not derailed Michigan's export opportunities," he said.
"The party will end one day" but there's no sign of that yet, said Sowerby.
In fact, Littmann said a Comerica "recession index" suggests continued economic strength for Michigan.
That index, which gives a 12-month warning of impending recession, had been at a 28 percent probability for the past eight months, he said. It is now at 23 percent, Littmann said.
"So if anything, the probability of recession has actually diminished," he said.
Michigan's lowest-ever unemployment rate was 2.2 percent in October 1966. But that was fueled by Great Society spending, space program spending and the Vietnam war, as well as by a vigorous auto industry, Littmann said.
"Without all those pump-priming programs and in the absence of any manpower-draining war, Michigan is achieving record low unemployment rates," he said.