Good news came from state officials when they announced the decrease in the unemployment rate. For the first time in six years, Dallas County’s unemployment rate had dropped into the single digits.

The percentage has steadily been decreasing throughout the past 15 months, a trend we definitely want to see continue. In February of 2014, the unemployment rate was at 12.4 percent. This year in February, the rate was down to 8.9 percent while the state was at 5.8 percent.

Dallas County continues to have a percentage above the average and rank among the top counties in the state at having the highest unemployment rate percentage, but we hope as the year continues that we will see even more jobs created and the unemployment percentage continue to fall.

According to Wayne Vardaman, executive director of the Selma and Dallas County Economic Development Authority, the county has taken great strides to get its unemployment rate down to single digits.

One reason the percentage continues to fall is the rise in companies expanding their operations. Companies like American Apparel and Lear and Zilkha Biomass Energy have expanded and created more jobs for Selma.

We commend the city and everyone else involved in helping people in the community with their education and finding work, on a job well done. We hope to see them continue working towards an even lower unemployment rate.