The state’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.8% in January, down a tick from December’s 6.9% rate but double the record low of 3.4% in May 2019. It is unclear what effect the mid-February winter storm had on employment, when power outages swept the state and many roads were impassable. We’ll find out next month. What is certain is that state lawmakers must grapple with a revenue shortfall as they build a biennial budget, since sales tax revenues are down from the previous year.