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By JOYANNA LOVE | Managing Editor

The unemployment rate in Chilton County decreased to 2.5% in February.

January had seen a 2.9% unemployment rate.

These rates mean that of the 20,076 people that make up the county’s civilian workforce 19,566 of them were employed in February.

February’s state-level unemployment rate also decreased in February, according to the Alabama Department of Labor.

“We’re excited to see a drop in our unemployment rate after holding steady for the past five months,” said ADOL Secretary Fitzgerald Washington. “In February, our civilian labor force increased, employment increased, and unemployment dropped to its lowest level since November 2019. These are great numbers, and we’re hopeful we that we will only see them improve as the year progresses.”

Employment increases were mostly seen in the transportation, utility, hospitality and manufacturing-related industries in the state.

Agriculture, manufacturing, retail and food service were the main industries looking to hire in Chilton County in February, according to information from local nonprofit Kelsey’s Place.

Rates of pay also saw an increase throughout the state in professional and business services jobs and well as jobs in education and health care.

“We had some pretty good news on the wage front as well,” Washington said. “Our total private weekly wages hit its second highest point at $984.56, which is $62.93 more per week than last year. Three sectors hit new record highs, each with yearly increases of more than $100 per week!”

Shelby County had the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 2.1% in February.