By J.R. Tidwell / Editor

The unemployment rate for the month of July was 3.9 percent here in Chilton County, according to numbers released by the Alabama Department of Labor.

That number is down from the 4.2 percent figure for June of 2017.

June was the first month in 2018 that the unemployment rate exceeded that of the previous year.

The rate jumped from 3.5 percent in May to 4.6 percent in June. June of 2017 saw an unemployment rate of just 4.4 percent.

Last year, the highest unemployment rate for any single month in Chilton County was 5.7 percent in January.

So far in 2018, 4.6 percent in June has been the highest number recorded.

In 2017, the rate began a steady decline starting in July that eventually fell to 3.1 percent for October and November before climbing to 4.0 percent in December.

April’s 3.2 percent has been the lowest rate for Chilton County so far this year.

The unemployment rates for the state of Alabama were 4.3 and 4.1 percent respectively for the months of June and July in 2017.

This year, both June and July saw rates of 4.1 percent for Alabama. By comparison, the unemployment rate for the entire Unites States was 4.0 percent in June and 3.9 percent in July.

Chilton County has had an average unemployment rate of 3.8 percent in 2018, which remains below the average of 4.0 percent in 2017.

Chilton County has averaged a civilian labor force of 19,331, with around 732 people unemployed any given month.

The average workforce for 2017 was 19,118, with about 774 people unemployed per month.

So far in 2018, the workforce has been slightly larger on average while maintaining a lower unemployment rate.

For the sake of comparison, neighboring Shelby County had the lowest rate in Alabama for July at 3.1 percent, while Wilcox County was the highest at 11.2 percent.