COLUMBIA, S.C. - Marion County registered the state's highest unemployment rate of 12.3 percent in March - down from 13.3 percent in February - as all counties posted reduced unemployment rates compared with the previous month, officials reported Monday.

The South Carolina Employment Security Commission said Friday that the state's overall unemployment rate rose slightly in March to 6.5 percent from 6.4 percent in February. It was the second increase this year.

The state rate is adjusted to remove seasonal influences while the county rates are not, which is why county figures appear to improve even though the statewide jobless rate seems to be worsening.

South Carolina's overall rate was fourth worst in the nation behind Mississippi, Alaska and Michigan. The national rate for March dropped to 4.7 percent from February's 4.8 percent.

Beaufort Country had the lowest unemployment with a rate of 4.3 percent, down from 4.6 percent the previous month, the commission said.

Seven counties registered double-digit unemployment.

Gov. Mark Sanford, who is up for re-election this year, touted the fact that the counties' rates had decreased across the board.

"A drop in unemployment rate for every county in the state is one more sign that we're moving in the right direction with respect to our economy," the Republican governor said in a statement. "Despite our unemployment rate being largely a product of a rapidly increasing labor force, this across the board drop is obviously very good news for our state."

Lachlan McIntosh, executive director of the South Carolina Democratic Party, said Sanford is "hiding behind the statistics."

"Perhaps the governor is happy with the fact that South Carolina is the fourth worst in unemployment. The rest of us aren't. We need a governor who leads and creates jobs," McIntosh said.