By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – The November unemployment rate was far below the national rate of five percent. Alabama's unemployment rate was 5.4 percent last November. In the past year, the number of employed Alabamians rose by nearly 48,000, according to the state Department of Industrial Relations. The state agency reported that preliminary unemployment figures for Alabama counties show the lowest jobless rate was 2.3 percent in Shelby County. The highest rate was 8.9 percent in Bullock county.