Morgan County’s unemployment rate fell one-half of a percent in February to 5.6 percent, according to data released by the Alabama Department of Labor.

The percentage represents 3,076 persons, which is down from 3,326 in January and 4,356 in February 2014.

The number of employed persons also increased by more than 300 to 51,388. That’s down from 52,135 in February 2014.

The labor force was nearly unchanged at 54,464 total workers, but it is down from 56,941 in February 2014.

Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted February unemployment rate is 5.8 percent, down from January’s rate of 6.0 percent and well below February 2014’s rate of 7.2 percent.

“Alabama’s February unemployment rate is very good news for our state,” Gov. Robert Bentley said. “This month’s drop contributes to the 15 month trend we’ve seen with no increase in unemployment. Over two million Alabamians are working – the most since 2008. Our economy supported more jobs in February than it has during the same period since 2008. We also experienced a significant increase in construction jobs, which bodes well for the state’s economic health.”

Preliminary data shows that all 67 counties experienced unemployment rate decreases both month over month and year over year.

The household survey indicates that 2,016,508 reported having jobs in February. The last time employment was equal to or above this number was October 2008, when employment totaled 2,021,511.

“Another economic indicator shows continued improvement: the number of initial unemployment compensation claims filed in February is the lowest it’s been in 40 years. This tells us that employers are laying off fewer workers than they have in decades,” Alabama Labor Commissioner Fitzgerald Washington said. “The bottom line is that nearly all of our economic indicators are trending in the right direction, and are finally either nearing or surpassing 2008 levels – when the recession truly began to hit Alabama.”

In February, initial claims totaled 12,793.

The last time initial claims were this low was in May of 1974. JobLink, the state’s free online jobs database, registered 20,275 active job orders in February.

Counties with the lowest unemployment rates are: Shelby County at 4.0 percent, Lee County at 4.7 percent, and Tuscaloosa County at 4.8 percent.