Alabama was in the midst of the greatest economic boom in the history of the state when 2020 began. For several months, the state had posted either the lowest unemployment rate in history or somewhere close to it, and January of last year was no exception at 2.7%.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March, and those figures took off as if they had hitched a ride on a Huntsville rocket.

Coronavirus may still be around, but local employment has rebounded. So much so, in fact, that the unemployment rate in Limestone County for January was 2.5%, lower than the rate posted a year ago at 2.7%.

Athens matched the county’s figure in January 2020 and at the start of 2021, according to figures posted by the Alabama Department of Labor.

“It shows that we have a skilled workforce that people are interested in employing, and it gives us the challenge that we must continue to provide that workforce by broadening our pipelines of workers through education,” said Bethany Shockney, president and CEO of the Limestone County Economic Development Association.

Though the unemployment rate for Athens and Limestone County did increase from 2.2% and 2.3% respectively in December, this post-holiday hike is typical, according to Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington.

“It is not uncommon for the number of jobs to drop from December to January,” he said. “This happens nearly every year and is related to holiday and seasonal employment ending. Combined with the extraordinary circumstances of the last year, it’s not surprising to see job losses. However, the trends of the past few months indicate that we will likely soon begin to see the jobs number climb again.”

The statewide unemployment rate for January was 4.3%, down from 4.7% the month prior. However, that figure is a good bit higher than the January 2020 rate of 2.7%.

“As we begin a new year, it’s encouraging to see our monthly unemployment rate drop, marking a new record low since the pandemic began,” Washington said. “While we are still not where we were before this year of massive change, we are making progress. More people were employed this month, and fewer were unemployed, which is always good news.”

Shelby had the lowest unemployment rate to begin the year among Alabama counties at 2.3%. Limestone was tied with Cullman for the third-lowest rate among the state’s 67 counties. Meanwhile, Wilcox County had the highest rate at 12.4%.

Vestavia Hills had the lowest January unemployment rate among cities at 1.9%. Prichard posted the highest figure at 11.5%.

The national unemployment rate for January was 6.3%. The state will release its February figures March 26.