Covington County’s jobless rate remains higher than the state’s rate, but is significantly lower than the same perior last year.

Gov. Robert Bentley on Friday announced that Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted February unemployment rate is 5.8 percent, down from January’s rate of 6.0 percent, and well below February 2014’s rate of 7.2 percent.

Covington County’s February 2015 rate was 7.5 percent, which was lower than its 7.9 percent jobless rate from January of this year, and must lower than its 9.3 percent unemployment rate from February of 2014.

“Alabama’s February unemployment rate is very good news for our state,” Bentley said. “This month’s drop contributes to the 15 month trend we’ve seen with no increase in unemployment. Over two million Alabamians are working – the most since 2008. Our economy supported more jobs in February than it has during the same period since 2008. We also experienced a significant increase in construction jobs, which bodes well for the state’s economic health.”

Preliminary data shows that all 67 counties experienced unemployment rate decreases both month-over-month and year-over-year.

Shelby County had the lowest unemployment rate at 4.0 percent, followed by Lee County at 4.7 percent and Tuscaloosa County at 4.7 percent. Wilcox County had the highest jobless rate at 13.5 percent, followed by Greene County at 10.7 percent, and Clarke County at 10.4 percent.

The counties surrounding Covington County posted the following jobless rates: Escambia, 7.0 percent; Conecuh, 9.0 percent; Butler, 7.0 percent; Crenshaw, 5.9 percent; Coffee, 5.7 percent; and Geneva, 5.9 percent.