Gov. Robert Bentley announced Friday that Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted August unemployment rate is 5.4 percent, down from July’s rate of 5.7 percent, and below August 2015’s rate of 6.1 percent.
“Lowering the unemployment rate and putting Alabamians back to work have been the major goals of my administration, and I’m proud to say that this month our unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been since I took office,” Gov. Bentley said. “These last two months have been great for Alabama! Our unemployment rate has dropped six tenths of a percent since June.”
August’s rate represents 116,361 unemployed persons, compared to 123,034 in July and 129,780 in August 2015. The last time the number of unemployed persons was at or below 116,361 was May 2008, when the number measured 113,343.

Covington County’s
unemployment rate

was 6.6% – down from 6.7% in July, and 7.4% in the same period last year.

“Not only did we see the unemployment rate drop, but we also saw the number of jobs our economy supports increase,” said Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington. “Our total wage and salary employment is reaching levels that we haven’t seen in nearly eight years. Manufacturing employment is at its second highest level since 2009. These numbers show us that employers have jobs and are hiring Alabamians.”
Over the year, only Perry County experienced an increase in its unemployment rate, rising from 10.5 percent to 10.9 percent.
Counties with the lowest unemployment rates are: Shelby County at 4.2 percent, Elmore County at percent, and Cullman County at 4.8 percent. Counties with the highest unemployment rates are: Wilcox County at 13.8 percent, Clarke County at 11.1 percent, and Perry County at 10.9 percent.
Major cities with the lowest unemployment rates are: Vestavia Hills at 3.7 percent, Homewood at 3.9 percent, and Hoover at 4.0 percent. Selma had the highest unemployment rate at 10.2 percent.