County’s jobless claims dip in February

Franklin County’s jobless claims dipped to 7.7 percent in March, just slightly above the state average of 7.3 percent.
That is down from February’s reported total of 8.9 percent and the 9.2 percent total of a year ago.
The 7.7 percent represents 1,019 county residents who filed unemployment claims.
The state average is now at its lowest point since December 2008.
“We are encouraged to see that Alabama’s unemployment rate has dropped once again, and we will continue our efforts to see that everyone who is looking for work is able to find it,” Gov. Robert Bentley said in a release Friday.
“Fortunately, we are also continuing to see record numbers of job postings on JobLink. I want to strongly encourage anyone seeking a job to go online and register, or go visit a local Career Center for some assistance.”
Alabama’s online jobs database, www.joblink.alabama.gov registered more job postings in March than at any time since 2008, with the exception of spikes due to temporary jobs following the Gulf Oil Spill and the 2011 April tornadoes
“Additionally, we continue to see our initial weekly claims for unemployment compensation drop to pre-recession levels,” Tom Surtees, Director of the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations said.
“This means fewer people are losing their jobs. Of those that are receiving benefits, the average duration is getting shorter – most are receiving benefits for about 17 weeks, meaning that people are going back to work faster.”
Wage and salary employment increased 12,200 over the month, with increases in the trade, transportation, and utilities industry, the leisure and hospitality industry, the manufacturing industry, and the professional and business services industry, among others.
The counties with the lowest unemployment rates were Shelby County at 5.1 percent, Coffee County at 6 percent and Lee County at 6.2 percent.
The counties with the highest unemployment rates were Wilcox County at 16.1 percent, Lowndes County at 15.3 percent and Dallas County at 13.4 percent.
In northwest Alabama, Lauderdale County is at 6.5 percent, Colbert County at 7.6 percent, Lawrence County at 8.3 percent, Winston County is at 9.9 percent and Marion County is 8.8 percent.