MONTGOMERY – Governor Robert Bentley on Friday announced that Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally-adjusted July unemployment rate is 6.3%, down from June’s rate of 6.5% and well below July 2012’s rate of 7.6%.
July 2013’s rate represents 135,089 unemployed persons, down from 140,024 in the previous month and 163,932 in July of 2012. The last time Alabama’s unemployment rate was at or below 6.3% was October of 2008 when the rate was 5.9%.
MAP SHOWING NORTH ALABAMA UNEMPLOYMENT RATES
Governor Robert Bentley
“While we are encouraged to see another drop in our unemployment rate, we need to remember there is still a lot of work to be done,” Governor Bentley said. “We will continue to recruit more jobs. We will continue to show how Alabama is a great place to do business. We will encourage more companies to build here and expand and hire more people. And we will continue these efforts until everyone who wants a job is able to find one.”
Currently, over 15,000 jobs are available on JobLink, Alabama’s free online jobs database 
(www.joblink.alabama.gov). Record numbers of jobs continue to be posted to the database, with the average monthly job count consistently being 1,000 more than at the same time last year.
Help Wanted Online (HWOL) data, which counts jobs on JobLink and other online sources, counts more than 51,000 total job ads in Alabama. The professions with the most jobs advertised online, as reflected by HWOL, are registered nursing and truck driving, with average hourly wages of $26.37 and $17.99 respectively. In July, there were 2,277 ads for registered nurses and 2,852 for truck drivers.
The top 20 occupations with the most job openings posted can be seen in the HWOL data attached.
“Employers are hiring in Alabama,” Alabama Department of Labor Commissioner
Alabama Department of Industrial Relations Director Tom Surtees
said. “The most in-demand jobs posted – meaning jobs available now – are relatively high-paying jobs that translate into lifelong careers. Additionally, we know that more jobs are coming, as more companies have announced that they are locating or expanding in Alabama.”
For assistance in applying for jobs, or to determine eligibility for available vocational and education training assistance, please visit your local Career Center. A listing of career centers is available at www.joblink.alabama.gov or at www.labor.alabama.gov.
Counties with the lowest unemployment rates for July of 2013 are: Shelby Countyat 4.2%, Baldwin County at 5.3% and Cullman County at 5.4%. Counties with the highest unemployment rates are: Wilcox County at 16.3%, Perry County at 14.7% and Dallas County at 14.4%.
