County jobless rate falls in December
Morgan County’s unemployment rate declined again in December, according to the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations.
The rate is now 6.1 percent, which is a 0.2 percent decrease from November. That’s a decrease of nearly 1,500 jobless workers.
The overall work force, however, fell by about 550 to 57,587 workers.
Alabama’s preliminary December 2012 unemployment rate is 7.1 percent, down from November’s rate of 7.5 percent and below the December 2011’s rate of 8.0 percent.
The December 2012 rate represents 152,638 unemployed persons, down from 162,169 the previous month and 174,443 in December 2011.
The December 2012 rate is also below the national rate of 7.8 percent.
“We are encouraged to see our unemployment rate drop once again,” Governor Bentley said. “Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen the total number of unemployed persons drop by nearly 22,000. Still, we must remember that many people are looking for work. Job creation remains my number-one priority, and I will continue working every day to bring more jobs to Alabama.”