Governor Robert Bentley on Friday announced that Alabama’s preliminary December 2012 unemployment rate was 7.1%, down from November’s rate of 7.5% and below December 2011’s rate of 8.0%.

In Cherokee County, unemployment was unchanged from November to December at 6.3-percent.

It was 7.2-percent the same time last year.

According to the State Labor Department, the jobless rate was down in Calhoun County, checking in at 6.7-percent. 

It was 6.9-percent in November and 7.9-percent in December of 2011.

In Dekalb County, the unemployment rate was down from 7.5 to 7.2-percent from November to December and way down from 9.2-percent in December of last year.

Etowah County also saw a drop from 6.7 to 6.5-percent over the month.

It was 7.6-percent this time last year.

It should be noted that the national unemployment rate was 7.8-percent.

Governor Bentley said in a news release “We are encouraged to see our unemployment rate drop once again.  Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen the total number of unemployed persons drop by nearly 22,000. Still, we must remember that many people are looking for work. Job creation remains my number-one priority, and I will continue working every day to bring more jobs to Alabama.”

Figures from the Alabama Department of Labor show annual gains in wage and salary employment were seen in the manufacturing, the professional & business services, leisure & hospitality, trade, transportation & utilities sectors.