County jobless rate rises in June, state rate falls

By By Thomas Tingle
Record Managing Editor
Although the unemployment rate in Madison County rose by .07 percent to 4.2 percent from May to June, Madison County has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state.
Unemployment figures released by the State of Alabama Department of Industrial Relations shows Madison County climbed to 4.2 percent in the number of people unemployed during the month of June and is 1.1 percent higher than from the same time period last year. Across the state, the June jobless rate fell to 5.4 percent, the second lowest of the year and also the second time this year it has dropped while the national unemployment rate rose. During the past six months of 2002, the average unemployment rate in Alabama is 5.6 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate was 5.9 percent in June, up from 5.8 percent in May.
Alabama's June unemployment rate represents 115,800 unemployed persons.
Nearby Limestone County saw an increase in its unemployment rate, as well as Morgan County and Lauderdale County. Limestone County went from 4.7 percent in May to 5.3 percent in June. Morgan County went from 5.6 percent in May to 6.9 percent in June. Lauderdale County continues to climb in its unemployment rate. It rose from 9.6 percent in May to 10.9 percent in June.
Counties with the lowest June Unemployment rate were Shelby at 2.8 percent; Cherokee at 3.7 percent; DeKalb and Coffee at 4.0 percent. Counties with the highest unemployment rate were Washington at 18. 4 percent; Dallas at 15.6 percent and Wilcox at 13.8 percent.