Alabama Unemployment Rate Holds Steady

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – Alabama’s latest unemployment rate is unchanged at 6.1 percent.

The Department of Labor says the preliminary jobless rate for January was the same as the December 2013 rate. The unemployment rate of 6.1 percent represents 130,444 people without jobs.

The rate is down considerably from a year earlier. The jobless rate for January 2013 was 6.7 percent.

The number of people working in the state in January increased from 1.98 million in December to 1.99 million in January.

Labor Commissioner Tom Surtees says the state saw growth in the labor force and an increase in the number of people working, which are good signs.

Surtees says seasonal layoffs after the Christmas shopping season were normal.