By J.R. TIDWELL / Editor

The unemployment rate for November remained low here in Chilton County.

The rate dropped from 3.5 percent in October down to 3.2 percent last month.

While the rate is up 0.1 percent from the 3.2 mark in November 2017, the average unemployment rate for Chilton County remains lower than last year’s number.

That 0.1 percent uptick represents a difference of just 16 people. There are also 450 more individuals in Chilton County’s labor force than a year ago.

There were 18,929 people employed in Chilton County in November of this year, with 616 individuals without work.

Alabama has seen the lowest average unemployment rate in state history in 2018 with just one month to go.

The 3.2 percent unemployment rate in November keeps the county average under the 4.0 percent posted in 2017.

According to the Alabama Department of Labor’s website, “In November 2018, 2,128,082 people were counted as employed, an increase of 46,330 from November 2017 (statewide). Wage and salary employment, which measures the number of jobs our economy is supporting, grew to 2,069,800, representing a yearly increase of 35,400 jobs.”

Gains were reported in the professional and business services sector (+11,900), the manufacturing sector (+10,200) and the education and health services sector (+3,200), among others, were reported.
“Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 4.0, down from October’s rate of 4.1 percent, and above November 2017’s rate of 3.8 percent,” according to the website. “November’s rate represents 87,757 unemployed persons, compared to 89,745 in October and 81,970 in November 2017.”

The statewide rate has hovered around this number throughout most of the year.

Shelby County once again posted the lowest unemployment rate of any county in Alabama for November at 2.5 percent.

Wilcox County also once again posted the highest rate at 7.9 percent.