The state’s poverty rate dropped slightly last year, even as the national rate jumped to 46 million people. Tennessee still has some of the highest poverty numbers in the nation. According to new numbers from the Census Bureau, about 77-thousand fewer Tennesseans are living in poverty. However, the number is still higher than before the recession. In the last year, the state’s jobless rate has fallen. Also, some of the state’s poorest communities have announced new efforts to tackle poverty. The Census Bureau’s figures are based on the federal poverty line, which is about 23-thousand dollars for a family of four.