Montgomery, AL – Alabama's unemployment has gone up to 11 percent.
State Industrial Relations Director Tom Surtees announced Friday that the rate rose from 10.5 percent in November to 11.0 percent in December. Surtees had been hopeful when the rate dropped from October to November, but the decline only lasted one month.
The December unemployment figure represented more than 225,000 people looking for work.
Counties with the lowest unemployment rates were Shelby at 7.6 percent, Madison at 7.7 percent, and Coffee at 8.1 percent. The counties with the highest rates were Wilcox at 24.5 percent, Monroe at 20.2 percent, and Dallas at 20.1 percent.
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