February Jobless Rate
There is some good news on the unemployment front: Unemployment dropped by 1/2 percent in February in Coffee County.
The latest figures from the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations shows Coffee county at 8.5% unemployment, down from 9% in January. That is about 1% higher than this time last year.
For perspective, Coffee county has the 3rd lowest unemployment rate in Alabama. The state average unemployment rate remained unchanged from January at 11.1%. The national average is 9.7%.
Although not where we want it, our unemployment rate is far better than those of other areas, including Barbour county at 14.6%. Most other counties in the Wiregrass, with the exception of Houston, saw a slight decrease in their unemployment rates for February.
Let’s hope the overall downward trend in these rates continues as we slowly pull out of this period economic uncertainty.
