Morgan County’s unemployment rate continued to fall in November to 5.2 percent, a decrease of 0.7 percent from October numbers.

The rate represents 2,927 unemployed workers, which is down 350 from October and more than 500 from November 2012 when the unemployment rate was 6.0 percent.

The unemployment rate fall while the overall workforce grew by 400 workers. However, the workforce was 57,063 in November 2012.

The number of employed workers also increased from 52,257 in October to 52,985 in November, but the total number of employed workers is down from 53,619 in 2012.

Alabama’s preliminary seasonally adjusted November unemployment rate is 6.2 percent, down from October’s revised rate of 6.4 percent.

November’s rate represents 132,381 unemployed persons, compared to 137,160 in October and 148,956 in November 2012.

“The long-term trend in Alabama’s unemployment rate is encouraging news for Alabamians who want a job,” Governor Robert Bentley said in a statement Friday. “Every Alabama county has a decrease in their unemployment rate for November, and that is a sign that Alabamians are getting back to work in both rural and urban areas of Alabama. There is still much work left to be done, however, until Alabama reaches full employment, and our efforts to recruit more jobs will continue.”

November’s rate represents the third time this year that Alabama’s unemployment rate has been at its lowest in five years. The last time the unemployment rate was at or below 6.2 percent was in October 2008, when the rate was 5.9 percent.

“Not surprisingly, it appears as though seasonal hiring, especially in retail establishments, helped to lower our unemployment rate,” Alabama Labor Commissioner Tom Surtees said in a release. “This traditionally happens during the months of November and December as employers prepare for the Christmas shopping rush.”

Counties with the lowest unemployment rates were: Shelby County at 3.6 percent, Lee County at 4.5 percent, and Cullman, St. Clair, and Cherokee Counties at 4.7 percent. Counties with the highest unemployment rates were: Wilcox County at 13.9 percent, Bullock County at 11.9 percent, and Perry and Dallas Counties at 11.1 percent.