The Selma-Times Journal

With each passing month Dallas County’s unemployment rate continues to show proof of strong economic growth, following a trend that is taking place across the state, according to the latest statistics from the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations.

ADIR announced on Friday that Dallas County’s unemployment rate for August was 9.6 percent, just a slight decrease from July’s rate of 9.7 percent and a two-percent drop from August 2004.

The overall rate for Alabama is 3.8 percent, a 1.8 percent drop from the rate of 5.6 percent from August of last year. The August figure is also down from July’s rate of 4.0 percent.

The national unemployment rate for August is 4.9 percent.

In a press release, Gov. Bob Riley said the recent figures are an example of how Alabama is leading the nation in industry.

“Alabama’s economy continues to grow and create new jobs. We have, without a doubt, one of the strongest state economies in the nation today,” Riley said.

Dallas County’s unemployment figures represent approximately 1,532 unemployed people, compared to 1, 552 unemployed workers in July and 1,940 in August 2004.

There is approximately 14,440 currently people employed in the county, according to ADIR.

The statewide statistics also show that from July to August, the number of unemployed Alabamians dropped by 3,402.

There are approximately 81,859 unemployed people across the state, compared to 85,261 in July.

There were 120,128 unemployed Alabamians in August 2004.

These recent unemployment figures are the latest in a string of positive news on Alabama’s and Dallas County’s economy, according to the governor’s office.

Last month, Dallas County officials welcomed a new business, Hanil E-Hwa Interior Systems.

The Korean-based company expects to be up and running in Oct. and will be providing car interior parts such as door trims, seats, head linings and other interior trims to the Hyundai Plant in Hope Hull.

In May, Governor Riley announced that the Alabama Development Office was selected as the best economic development agency in the nation by Site Selection magazine.

For three consecutive years, Alabama has been named “State of the Year” by Southern Business and Development magazine for its record of industry expansion and job creation among 17 Southern states.

In 2004, a nonprofit organization found that Alabama ranks in the Top 10 of all states in a variety of areas used to measure the health of the economy.

The Corporation for Enterprise Development ranked Alabama fourth among the states in employment growth and fourth in average annual pay growth.