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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina's jobless rate could be falling for an eighth straight month.

The state Department of Employment and Workforce is set to release the state's unemployment rate for March on Friday.

If it drops again, the monthly figure would mark the eighth straight monthly decline in South Carolina's jobless rate. In February, state unemployment fell to 9.1 percent.

Gov. Nikki Haley planned to talk about state unemployment in Irmo on Friday.

South Carolina legislators have been debating who should collect jobless benefits. Last month, the House approved a measure cutting off unemployment checks for anyone who either fails or refuses to take an employer's drug test.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)