The Alabama Department of Labor has released the latest unemployment numbers with the month of December seeing a slight increase over last month, from 5.9 to 6.2%, which is still slightly better than this time a year ago when the rate was 6.3%.
Cherokee County is still faring better than all surrounding counties, posting a rate 5.4% and Etowah remains closest with a rate of 5.8%; Cleburne comes in at a flat 6.0%; DeKalb at 6.2, and Calhoun at 6.6.
Shelby County posted the lowest rate in the state at 4.3%.
The highest rate for the month of December was 15.6% in Wilcox County.
The national rate is 4.7%