State jobless rate rises; county's is third lowest

Alabama figure for December is 3.6%;Madison's is 2.4%

Alabama's unemployment rate ticked up nearly half a point in December, following a record-low 3.2 percent for the previous two months, but it is still well below the U.S. average.

The state unemployment rate for December - and all of 2006 - was 3.6 percent. The figure also matches last year's state unemployment rate, according to the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations.

The national unemployment rate was 4.5 percent in December.

Madison County's unemployment rate was 2.4 percent, third lowest in the state for December, behind Shelby County at 2.1 percent and Baldwin County at 2.3 percent. The jobless rate in Madison County in December was slightly below the same period in 2005 and just above November's 2.3 percent rate.

Fifteen of the state's 67 counties reported jobless rates of less than 3 percent, including Marshall County at 2.9 percent.

Jackson County reported a December 2006 rate of 3.3 percent, Limestone County was at 3.1 percent and Morgan County was 3.3 percent.

Bullock County in southeast Alabama had the state highest unemployment rate in December at 8.4 percent, up from 7.7 percent a year earlier.

During 2006, the state had a net gain of 16,600 jobs, including 5,800 in professional and business services and 5,200 in education and health services. Manufacturing reported the biggest loss in jobs at 3,800, according to figures released by the Department of Industrial Relations.