Local jobless rate up, still below national average

By By Thomas Tingle
Record Managing Editor
More than 148,890 people were employed in Madison County during the month of October.
While Madison County's unemployment rate for the month of October rose by only .1 percent from the same time period in September, the county's unemployment rate remains far below the state unemployment rate of 5.6 percent and the nation's unemployment rate of 5.7 percent.
According to Alice McKinney, director of the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations, with the holiday season upon us, many people will be temporarily employed in the wholesale and retail sector.
"As far as labor market analysts have been able to determine, high consumer confidence and spending during the upcoming holiday season may positively affect the number of Alabama's employed in wholesale and trade," McKinney said.
During the past year, the number of new retail stores opening in the Huntsville/Madison County area rose significantly. Among those, Parkway Place and West Side Center on University Drive.
Madison County has experienced low unemployment for several years and is ranked among the lowest in Alabama.