Franklin County’s unemployment rate is holding steady below the rate for the same time period a year ago.

Numbers released Friday showed a preliminary rate of 7.8 percent in June, which is well below the 9.1 percent reported in 2012.

It remains above the state average of 6.5 percent, however.

The county’s numbers reflect a total of 1,026 residents who filed for jobless claims in June. That is up from the 961 who filed in May.

June’s state rate represents 140,148 unemployed persons, compared to 147,720 in the previous month and 163,982 in June of 2012.

“We’re working hard every day to recruit more jobs for the people of Alabama,” Gov. Robert Bentley said.

“We’re encouraged to see year-to-year improvements in the factors that comprise our unemployment rate. Since June of 2012, the labor force has increased by more than 10,000, the number of people working is up by nearly 34,000, and the number of people unemployed is down by almost 24,000. This is why our unemployment rate is down by more than one percentage point since then.”

The number of people in the civilian workforce in June of 2013 was 2,170,100, compared to 2,159,944 in June of 2012. The number of people employed in June of 2013 was 2,029,952, compared to 1,995,962 in June of 2012. Also, the number of people unemployed in June of 2013 was 140,148, compared to 163,982 in June of 2012.

“Although we didn’t see growth over the past month in the labor force or the number employed, it’s not anything to be terribly concerned about,” Alabama Department of Labor Commissioner Tom Surtees said.

“These summer months always bring an influx of people looking for summer jobs or new graduates looking for full-time jobs. The May to June numbers have been ‘seasonally adjusted’ to allow for those expected increases. Basically, the adjustment removes any spikes when seasonal factors occur and allows us to have a more accurate picture of employment in Alabama.”

Counties with the lowest unemployment rates are: Shelby County at 4.5 percent, Cullman County at 5.6 percent and Limestone and Baldwin Counties at 5.7 percent. Counties with the highest unemployment rates are: Wilcox County at 15.8 percent, Perry County at 14 percent and Dallas County at 13.4 percent.

In northwest Alabama, the totals were as follows: Lauderdale County at 6.3 percent, Colbert County at seven percent, Lawrence County at 7.3 percent, Winston County at 9.2 percent and Marion County at 7.9 percent.