The state’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted January unemployment rate is 6 percent, a decrease from December 2014’s rate of 6.1 percent.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said January’s rate signifies 14 months without an increase in Alabama’s unemployment rate.

“For the past two months, more than two million people are working in this state, which hasn’t happened since November 2008,” Bentley said. “We continue to remain hopeful that our economy is turning around and Alabamians are gaining employment.”

The amount of people reported as employed in January is 2,006,903, and 2,001,069 for December 2014.

The last time the number of people employed was equal to or larger was November 2008, when the number of reported individuals working was 2,007,253.

Alabama Labor Commissioner Fitzgerald Washington said the economy is backing the greatest number of jobs since 2008.

“The annual increase in jobs, year over year, is the second highest we’ve experienced in the past decade,” he said. “That’s certainly great news and shows that Alabama’s employers are continuing to hire.”

Salary and wage employment have increased by 37,400, including gains in the professional and business services sector, the leisure and hospitality sector, and other different areas of employment over the year.

Dallas County’s preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 10.3 percent, an increase from December 2014’s estimate of 9.2 percent.

Lee, Tuscaloosa, Elmore and St. Clair are some of the counties in the state with the lowest unemployment rates, with rates below 6 percent.

On the opposite end of the scale, Wilcox, Clarke, Greene and Lowndes counties have the highest unemployment rates ranging from 11.5 percent to 14.9 percent.