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By JOYANNA LOVE | Managing Editor

Chilton County saw an increase in its workforce in June.

Tara Hutchison, communications director for the Alabama Department of Labor, said the county had the most people employed as it had so far in 2022.

The civilian labor force in June was 20,533 compared to 20,256 in May and 19,847 in June 2021.

“At the same time, you had 100 more people become employed, which is also a good indicator,” Hutchison said.

During the summer months, “you see a lot of high school graduates who are coming out entering the job market and college graduates coming out entering the job market, those are going to create sort of a spike,” Hutchison said.

However, the overall percentage of the workforce that was employed in June decreased slightly compared to May.

Chilton County saw a slight increase in unemployment to 2.8% in June from 2.0% in May.

The Birmingham Metro statistical area, which Chilton County is a part of, saw an increase of 3,400 jobs in service providing industries from May to June. This includes 1,600 jobs in education and health services.

In June, Kelsey’s Place, which helps community members prepare for and land jobs, listed job openings related to animal care, banking, outdoor work, cashier positions, education, housekeeping, manufacturing, retail and restaurants.

The Chilton County Career Center also assists those in the community looking for a job. The center is inside the Chilton County DHR building at 324 Health Center Drive. The center is open on the first and third Thursday of each month from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The state continues to have a historically low, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 2.6%.

“The good news continues to roll in as we reach another unemployment milestone of 2.6%,” said Gov. Kay Ivey. “For the third consecutive month, Alabama has set a record low unemployment rate. Alabama is working like never before, and the future continues to look brighter for our state and her people.”

Seasonally adjusted rates account for known large fluctuations based on times of the year, such as holiday hiring for Christmas.

Hutchison pointed out that county rates are not seasonally adjusted. The unemployment rate for the state before the adjustment was 3.3%.