Alabama's unemployment rate for January is 6.9 percent.
That's up slightly from December's revised rate of 6.8 percent. December's preliminary rate had been 7.1 percent, but it was revised downward.
Gov. Robert Bentley said Alabama now has two consecutive months with unemployment below 7 percent. January's rate is also below the 7.3 percent the state recorded a year ago.
State Labor Commissioner Tom Surtees said Alabama is seeing a positive trend, but officials must remain focused on the more than 148,000 Alabamians still looking for work.
Counties with the lowest unemployment rates are: Shelby at 5.4 percent, Blount at 6.4 percent and Madison at 6.6 percent. Counties with the highest unemployment rates are: Wilcox at 17.4 percent, Lowndes at 14.5 percent, and Bullock, Perry, and Dallas at 13.9 percent.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
