BIRMINGHAM —
Alabama’s unemployment rate rose to 7.8 percent in June, an increase that state officials said Friday was a seasonal change linked to teachers and others looking for work during the summer.
The jobless rate for last month was up four-tenths of a percent from May’s unemployment rate of 7.4 percent, but it was still well below the jobless rate from a year ago, 9.3 percent.
Industrial Relations Director Tom Surtees said the unemployment rate increased because more people were out seeking work as the summer break began in June.
“Just as with last month, we are experiencing an expected, seasonal increase in the labor force,” he said in a statement.
“People looking for summer work as well as teachers and education employees who are not working over the summer are entering the job market,” said Surtees. “”Since the unemployment rate is simply the percentage of people in the labor force who are not working, this increase will inevitably raise the unemployment rate.”
The jobless rate represented 168,775 people who were seeking work in the state. Another 1.99 million people were employed, or about 4,000 more than in May.
Shelby County in suburban Birmingham has the state’s lowest jobless rate, at 6.1 percent, followed by Coffee County in southeast Alabama at 7.3 percent and Limestone County, in the Tennessee Valley, with 7.4 percent unemployment.
The three counties with the highest jobless numbers were all in the impoverished Black Belt region of western Alabama: Wilcox, at 18.8 percent; Lowndes with 16.5 percent unemployment; and Dallas County at 16.3 percent.
The state said that despite the monthly increase in employment, the state’s online database of available positions, called JobLink, had the most job listings ever. The number of positions available exceeds even the totals from two recent events that created a large number of temporary jobs, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 and the tornadoes of April 2011.
Top News
Alabama jobless rate up to 7.8 percent in June
- Top News
-
-
Commissioners pleased with hiring in-house attorney
After years of partnering with a local law firm for legal representation, the county has opted to go a different route.
-
Council applies for bridge repair grant at Eightmile Creek Bridge
City officials are seeking a grant to repair a local bridge that is barely rated as usable and on the verge of being closed or condemned by the state.
-
Forever Wild an option for county schools’ Section 16 land
Cullman County school officials would consider the state’s Forever Wild program as a selling option for some valuable land on Smith Lake, though the board is still eyeing a variety of avenues to leverage the asset.
-
Six facing drug charges in separate arrests across county
Four people were arrested on multiple charges, including meth manufacturing, after deputies responded to a possible burglary-in-progress call around 3:30 a.m. on Thursday.
-
Sex offender fails to register
Cullman City police officers responded to a domestic violence call late last week and left with one man arrested for failing to register as a sex offender.
-
Record Powerball jackpot inspires office pools
In workplaces across the nation, Americans are inviting their colleagues to chip in $2 for a Powerball ticket and a shared daydream.
-
Severe thunderstorm warning issued for Cullman County
A severe thunderstorm warning is in effect for Cullman County.
-
Thunderstorms expected through tonight
Expect a lot of rain and some possibly strong thunderstorms through the afternoon and night across Cullman County.
-
ADECA bringing $49 million for tornado relief
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs announced a second round of funding, $49 million, coming to communities in North Alabama who suffered tornado damage from April 27, 2011 at a meeting in the Cullman City Hall on Tuesday morning.
-
Arrests, incidents reports for Thursday, May 16, 2013
Here is a look at the incidents that were reported to the Cullman City Police Department for Thursday:
- More Top News Headlines
-
Commissioners pleased with hiring in-house attorney
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
