County sees slight uptick in unemployment
With unemployment figures released for December, Franklin County comes in at slightly higher than its November unemployment rate: up to 6 percent from 5.8 percent.
This roughly correlates to the statewide average, which jumped from 6 percent in November to 6.2 percent in December.
Although the state attributed its increase in unemployment, at least partially, to a parallel increase in the labor force, the same cannot be said for Franklin County, where the labor force reportedly was consistent with the previous month.
The county’s unemployment rate is better than all surrounding counties, with Lawrence, Winston and Walker counties coming in at 7.4 percent, Colbert at 7.2 percent and Marion at 6.7 percent.