Marengo beats Alabama unemployment average

Alabama set a record unemployment rate in April of 2.8 percent. Marengo County beat the state average with a 2.7 percent mark, but of the eight counties contiguous to Marengo, only Sumter managed to match it.

However, all nine counties showed a significant drop in unemployment from a year ago. That number may be offset by a slight drop in the civilian labor force in all but Choctaw and Hale counties.

The state’s average unemployment dropped from 3.6 percent from April a year ago. Marengo’s average then was 4.0 percent.

Here are the statistics from counties surrounding Marengo:

• Choctaw: 3.0, down from 4.2.
• Clark: 4.0, down from 5.7.
• Dallas: 5.0, down from 6.7.
• Greene: 4.3, down from 6.4.
• Hale: 3.6, down from 5.1.
• Perry: 5.4, down from 7.7.
• Sumter: 2.7, down from 4.0.
• Wilcox: 7.7, down from 10.4.

The estimates were prepared by the Alabama Department of Labor in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, based on a 2021 benchmark.