The last time Alabama experienced job growth like it did this September was in 2006, before the Great Recession brought on years of high unemployment and anemic economic growth across the country.

Alabama’s seasonally adjusted September unemployment rate dropped to 6.6%, down from 6.9% in August. There were still 140,674 unemployed Alabamians last month, compared to 147,248 in August.

According to estimates released Friday by the Alabama Dept. of Labor, a net of over 30,000 jobs have been created in Alabama’s economy over the last year.

“The number of jobs employers reported in Alabama in September is the highest we have seen since December 2008, and that is thanks to the strong economic development efforts we have put in place to create jobs,” said Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley. “Our economy is supporting more jobs today than it has in the past five years, and our efforts will continue until every Alabamian who wants a job has the opportunity to have one. September’s unemployment rate is the lowest rate we’ve seen in seven months, and we are confident that this trend will continue.”

Sectors of the economy where the increase in jobs has been particularly dramatic include the government sector (+7,600), education and health services (+2,800) and professional and business services (+1,800), among others. The growth in government jobs was unusual, considering the fact that Alabama’s state government has shrunk by one of the fastest rates in the country since Republicans took control in 2010.

Every county in Alabama saw their unemployment rate drop in September, and some counties with traditionally high unemployment rates experienced especially significant drops. Monroe (-2.0), Dallas (-2.2), Sumter (-2.3), Wilcox (-2.3) and Perry (-2.8) counties all experienced decreases of more than two percentage points.

Counties with the lowest unemployment rates are: Shelby County at 4.3%, Lee and Cherokee Counties at 4.7%, and Blount County at 4.8%. For the full county by county numbers, click here.

Over the year, wage and salary employment increased by 31,600, with gains in the leisure and hospitality sector (+9,000), the manufacturing sector (+7,900), the professional and business services sector (+7,900), the education and health services sector (+3,100), the construction sector (+2,800), among others.

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