Jobless rate unchanged in April
Morgan County’s unemployment rate remained at 8.8 percent despite having more employed workers in April than there were in March.
The number of unemployed persons increased from 51,108 in March to 52,221 in April. However, the number or unemployed persons also grew by 33 to 4,963, which caused the overall rate to remain the same.
The 8.8 percent jobless rate is an improvement from last year, when the rate was at 9.5 percent.
In the Decatur metropolitan area, the unemployment rate remained at 9.1 percent in April, which is eight-tenths of a percent lower than a year ago.
Statewide, the unemployment rate rose to 9.3 percent from 9.2 percent, but it’s still lower than the April 2010 rate of 9.8 percent. The national unemployment rate also increased two-tenths of a percent to 9.0 percent.
Counties with the lowest unemployment rates were Shelby County at 6.5 percent, Coffee County at 7 percent and Pike County at 7.2 percent. Counties with the highest unemployment rates were Wilcox County at 20.9 percent, Perry County at 16.2 percent and Clarke County at 16.1 percent.
