County unemployment drops below state level
Morgan County’s unemployment numbers dropped from 9.9 percent in June to 9.7 percent in July, but it’s still higher than the jobless rate from a year ago, according to figures released Friday by the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations.
In July, 5,465 workers in Morgan County did not have a job, which is a decrease of nearly 200 from the previous month, but the number is also nearly 200 higher than it was in July 2010.
The news isn’t all bad because 379 more workers actually have a job this year than last year, but the civilian workforce is larger than it was last year.
The state’s unemployment figures increased to 10 percent in July, up from 9.9 percent in June.
“While we are disappointed to report any increase in our seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, we are encouraged by the jobs coming into the state,” said Tom Surtees, director of the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations. “There are significantly more Alabamians working in July than in January this year. In addition, we continue to see more discouraged workers resuming their job search, with more unemployed active job seekers in July. So while we have seen more jobs, we have also seen more job seekers as well,” he continued.
The counties with the lowest unemployment rates were: Shelby County at 7.0 percent, Coffee County at 7.7 percent and Pike County at 8.1 percent. The counties with the highest unemployment rates were: Wilcox County at 23.3 percent, Perry County at 20.5 percent and Dallas County at 19.9 percent.
The Decatur metropolitan area also saw a decrease in its jobless rate from 10.2 percent in June to 9.9 percent in July. However, the civilian labor force also dropped by nearly 800 persons.
Here’s the details from the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations:
