Morgan jobless rate drops to 7.2%
Morgan County’s unemployment rate showed improvement as it dropped to 7.2 percent in January 2013 as compared to 7.5 percent at the same time in the prior year.
However, the rate was up by more than a percentage point from December 2012.
The jobless rate in the Decatur metropolitan Area declined two-tenths of a percentage point, dropping from 7.8 per cent to 7.6 percent.
Alabama’s preliminary unemployment rate for January 2013 was reported at 6.9 percent by the Bureua of Labor Statistics; marking the second month the state’s unemployment rate is below 7 percent, when factoring in revised figures from December 2012.
The long-term trend in Alabama’s unemployment rate is encouraging news,” said Governor Robert Bentley.” We have seen a steady decline in unemployment over time. Dozens of industries are choosing to build and expand in Alabama, and the result is more people are going back to work. There is still much work to be done, however, until Alabama reaches full employment, and our efforts to recruit more jobs will continue.”
January’s jobless rate represents 148,724 workers, compared to 145,613 in December 2012 and 158,040 in January 2012.
Shelby County had the lowest unemployment rate at 5.4 percent while Wilcox County had the highest at 17.4 percent.