Unemployment in FC drops from July to August

Alabama Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington announced last week more than 2.1 million people were working in Alabama in August, breaking the previous employment record for the fourth consecutive month.

“For four months in a row now, we’ve been breaking employment records,” Washington said. “Thirty-two thousand more Alabamians are working now than last year.  We’ve also seen our labor force grow by 37,000, meaning more people have confidence in the economy and their ability to find a job – and the majority of those have found work, which is great news.”

In Franklin County, the unemployment rate was noted as dropping from 4.2 percent to 4 percent. The 0.2 percent drop, however, can be largely accounted for in a drop in the local labor force from 13,991 to 13, 932, according to the ADOL. Employment figures actually show 20 fewer people employed in August compared to July in Franklin County.

Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted August unemployment rate is 4.1 percent, unchanged from July’s rate and slightly above August 2017’s rate of 4.0 percent.

Counties with the lowest unemployment rates are Shelby County at 3.1 percent, Cullman County at 3.4 percent and Marshall County at 3.5 percent, while Franklin retains the lowest percentage in northwest Alabama.