PORTLAND — The unemployment rate in Maine fell to its lowest point in more than seven years in March.

The preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 5 percent in February to 4.8 percent in March. It was 5.8 percent a year ago. The state Department of Labor says Maine’s number of unemployed declined 7,800 over the year to 32,100.

The nationwide preliminary unemployment rate of 5.5 percent was the same as in February. The rate was down from 6.6 percent a year ago.

The Portland Press Herald reports Maine tied Massachusetts for third-lowest unemployment rate in New England. The lowest unemployment rate in the region was in Vermont at 3.8 percent while the highest rate was in Connecticut at 6.4 percent.