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According to weekly unemployment figures released by the Alabama Department of Labor (ADOL), 132 people filed jobless claims in Dallas County last week, a decrease of more than 60 over the week before.

Dallas County’s most recent numbers represent two weeks of declining numbers – 291 claims were filed in the county during the week of July 18 before a steep drop-off the following week, in which 195 claims were filed in the county.

Dallas County’s declining weekly claims mirror  statewide trend, which saw a drop of nearly 6,000 claims between last week and the week before – 11,692 claims were filed in Alabama last week, down from 17,439 the week before.

Like Dallas County, the most recent numbers represent two weeks of declining numbers statewide.

Nearby Autauga County likewise saw its numbers decline, dropping from 173 during the week of July 25 to 105 in the most recent report, as did Lowndes County, which logged 24 claims last week compared to 45 the week before.

Marengo County claims notched down by one, with 46 filed last week compared to 47 filed the week before, while Perry County climbed down from 41 during the week of July 25 to 32 in the most recent report.

Wilcox County also saw a drop in weekly claims, with 39 filed last week compared to 50 the week before.

Of the more than 11,000 claims filed across the state last week, more than 8,800 were related to the pandemic.

As has been the case throughout the crisis, workers in the unclassified sector continue to be the hardest hit, constituting more than 4,200 of the jobless claims filed last week.

The manufacturing sector, the retail trade sector and the accommodation and food services sector each posted more than 1,000 initial unemployment claims last week, while the remediation services sector and the healthcare and social assistance sector each logged more than 800 claims.

Jefferson County continues to see the highest rate of weekly claims filed, with more than 1,500 last week, an improvement over the 2,418 filed the week before.