Alabama’s unemployment rate dropped ever so slightly in December.
The Alabama Department of Labor (ADOL) said December’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate is 3.9 percent — a decrease from November’s 4 percent.
“We are ending 2018 with great economic news all around,” said Alabama Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington. “To see this kind of record job growth is extraordinary. Alabama employers have added nearly 45,000 jobs over the past year – economists predicted that our economy would grow by 27,000 jobs. I’m happy to say that we more than exceeded their predictions.”
For seven consecutive months, the number of people counted as employed has reached record highs, with December’s count measuring 2,130,194, an increase from November’s count of 2,127,934, and an increase of 49,018 compared to December 2017’s count of 2,081,176. December’s rate represents 86,023 unemployed persons, compared to 87,754 in November and 82,378 in December 2017.
![[Photo via ADOL]](https://i0.wp.com/altoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/50323473_2026349987443279_1177460340691042304_o-232x300.jpg?resize=232%2C300)
Counties with the lowest unemployment rates are:
- Shelby County: 2.5%
- Cullman County: 2.9%
- Marshall, Madison, Limestone, and Elmore Counties: 3.0%
Counties with the highest unemployment rates are:
- Wilcox County: 8.7%
- Clarke County: 7.1%
- Dallas County: 6.6%.
Major cities with the lowest unemployment rates are:
- Homewood and Vestavia Hills: 2.3%
- Alabaster, Hoover, Madison, and Northport: 2.5%
- Daphne: 2.9%
Major cities with the highest unemployment rates are:
- Selma: 7.9%
- Prichard: 6.3%
- Bessemer: 4.8%
