Unemployment numbers released by the Alabama Department of Labor (ADOL) last week indicate that both Selma and Dallas County have seen a dip in unemployment rates over the last month.

Dallas County’s March unemployment rate dropped to 6.3 percent, a nearly 1-percent improvement over February’s number.

Likewise, Selma’s March unemployment rate dropped a full percent over February’s rate to 7.5 percent.

Both, however, are up from last year’s numbers – Selma’s unemployment rate in March 2018 was 6.6 percent and Dallas County’s was 6.3 percent.

“Those numbers fluctuate so much, but they’re trending like I thought they would,” said Wayne Vardaman, Executive Director of the Selma and Dallas County Economic Development Authority. “Hopefully, that will continue.”

Vardaman attributed recent increases in the local unemployment rate to layoffs at city hall and Globe Metallurgical, but noted that small changes in the manufacturing sector can lead to significant percentage-point changes in unemployment rates.

New hiring and local expansion has aided in the area’s recent improvement, Vardaman said.

For his part, Vardaman takes a long-view in assessing changes in unemployment – the recent numbers represent some of the best Selma and Dallas County have garnered since 2000, with the current unemployment rate less than half of what it was during the height of the economic recession in 2009.

“If you look at where we’ve come from, it’s really good,” Vardaman said of the recent numbers.

In the ADOL press release, Selma was still listed among the Alabama cities with the highest unemployment rates, alongside Prichard at 6.1 percent and Anniston at 5.3 percent.

The cities with lowest unemployment rates were Homewood and Northport, both sitting at 2.6 percent, Hoover and Vestavia Hills, which were both at 2.7 percent, and Alabaster at 2.8 percent.

Statewide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 3.7 percent, a nominal increase over the 4 percent unemployment rate from the same period last year.

“Once again, we’ve shattered employment records in Alabama,” said ADOL Secretary Fitzgerald Washington.  “More people are working now than ever before in Alabama’s history.  Employers are continuing to post jobs, companies are moving operations and our existing businesses are expanding, all of which is great news for Alabamians.”

According to ADOL numbers, more than 2.1 million people were counted as employed last month, an increase of nearly 29,000 over last year’s number, with just over 82,000 people counted as unemployed.

Employment in building construction and aerospace manufacturing grew by more than 10 percent over the last year and monthly gains were seen in the leisure and hospitality sector, the construction sector and the business and professional services sector.