Alabama Jobless Rate Jumps to 6.1 Percent

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Officials say Alabama’s unemployment rate is up to 6.1 percent.

The May jobless rate released Friday jumped three-tenths of a percentage point from 5.8 percent in April. State unemployment hasn’t been as high since it was 6.1 percent in December.

But Gov. Robert Bentley’s administration says the news isn’t bad because more people entered the workforce as summer approached.

And the administration says wage and salary growth is exceeding estimates made earlier this year. The state has added about 34,800 jobs in the first five months of 2015.

Shelby County in metro Birmingham has the state’s lowest unemployment rate at 4.2 percent, followed by Lee and Elmore counties at 5.1 percent.

Unemployment is worst in rural Wilcox County, located in west Alabama. The jobless rate there is 15.6 percent.