July unemployment rate down slightly

Published 1:00 am Saturday, August 22, 2020

Unemployment rates for Alabama counties did not fluctuate much from June to July. Many saw a slight increase, while others remained the same or were a few percentage points lower, according to figures released Friday by the Alabama Department of Labor.

The latter was the case for Limestone County and the city of Athens. Limestone County dropped from 5.7% in June to 5.5% in July. The city of Athens dropped from an unemployment rate of 5.4% in June to 5.0% in July, with 43 residents gaining employment.

The number of employed residents countywide increased by 154 from 39,828 to 39,982 over the monthlong span.

Alabama’s unemployment rate went up slightly from 7.6% in June to 7.9% in July, the first increase since coronavirus began affecting the economy in March.

“While we can all agree that the economy is definitely recovering, we will continue to have fluctuations as we continue to learn how to navigate in this new pandemic-related reality,” said Fitzgerald Washington, secretary of the Alabama Department of Labor.

While most state unemployment figures have either dropped or raised slightly over the past month, those numbers remain well above those posted in July of 2019 when Alabama was experiencing its most booming economy in state history.

Statewide unemployment rate in July 2019 was 2.8%. Likewise, the Limestone County unemployment rate was 2.7% during the same time period last year.

While this year’s figures remain well above what they were a year ago, they are approximately half of rates posted in April at the height of business shutdowns caused by COVID-19.

“Nearly 200,000 jobs were lost from March to April, when we experienced the greatest shutdowns and layoffs. Since then, we’ve recovered approximately half of those jobs.”

Clay County posted the lowest unemployment rate in Alabama last month with a 4.8%, with Cullman County next at 5.1%. Wilcox County posted the highest unemployment rate in July at 19.0%, followed by Lowndes County’s 18.7%.

Vestavia Hills posted the lowest unemployment rate in July among Alabama cities with a 4.3%, while Prichard posted the highest at 21.2%.