Montgomery, AL – Alabama's unemployment rate has fallen for the eighth straight month to 7.3 percent for March.
That's down from a revised rate of 7.5 percent in February and a high of 10.0 percent in July. The state Department of Industrial Relations reports that the last time Alabama's unemployment rate was this low was December 2008. Alabama's rate was also below the national figure of 8.2 percent.
State Industrial Relations Director Tom Surtees said initial claims for unemployment have fallen to pre-recession levels.
Alabama counties with the lowest unemployment rates are Shelby at 5.1 percent; Coffee at 6.0 percent; and Lee at 6.2 percent.
Counties with the highest rates are Wilcox at 16.1 percent; Lowndes at 15.3 percent; and Dallas at 13.4 percent.
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