Montgomery, AL – Alabama's unemployment rate has gone down again to 7.8 percent.
The state Department of Industrial Relations says January's figure is down from 8.0 percent in December, and it continues a steady decline that began in July.
Gov. Robert Bentley said the rate is Alabama's lowest in more than three years. But he says the state is not where it needs to be. He said there are more than 160,000 Alabama residents still looking for work and others who have left the work force. He said job creation must remain the top priority.
Counties with the lowest rates were Shelby at 5.8 percent, Coffee at 6.8 percent and Lee at 6.9 percent. Counties with the highest rates were Wilcox at 17.2 percent, Lowndes at 16.6 percent and Dallas at 14.6 percent.
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