Alabama’s statewide unemployment rate held steady at 4.1% for the month of July which is the same as this time a year ago.  Alabama’s latest numbers are only slightly higher than the national average of 3.9% – officials with the Department of Labor say the number of people actually working the state is at a record high with more than 2.1 million people employed.

Both Cherokee and DeKalb County did well, each posting a flat 4.0% unemployment rate, as neighboring Randolph County came in at 4.4%, Etowah at 4.5 and Calhoun at 5.2%.

Shelby County in metro Birmingham had the state’s lowest unemployment rate at just 3.1% followed by Cullman County at 3.5%.  Wilcox County had the highest rate at 11.2%, followed by Clarke County at 9.1%.