Chilton County’s preliminary unemployment rate for July decreased 0.7 percent from June’s rate of 6.2 percent.

The rate is also down from the revised July 2012 rate for Chilton County 1.9 percent with a rate of 7.4 percent.

The state unemployment rate is 6.3 percent, down from June’s rate of 6.5 percent and well below July 2012’s rate of 7.6 percent.

July 2013’s rate of 6.8 percent represents 135,089 unemployed people, down from 140,024 in the previous month and 163,932 in July of 2012.

The last time Alabama’s unemployment rate was at or below 6.3 percent was October 2008 when the rate was 5.9 percent.

“While we are encouraged to see another drop in our unemployment rate, we need to remember there is still a lot of work to be done,” Gov. Robert Bentley said in a release. “We will continue to recruit more jobs. We will continue to show how Alabama is a great place to do business. We will encourage more companies to build here and expand and hire more people. And we will continue these efforts until everyone who wants a job is able to find one.”

Currently, more than 15,000 jobs are available on Joblink.alabama.gov, Alabama’s free online jobs database. Record numbers of jobs continue to be posted to the database, with the average monthly job count consistently being 1,000 more than at the same time last year.

Help Wanted Online (HWOL) data, which counts jobs on JobLink and other online sources, counts more than 51,000 total job ads in Alabama. The professions with the most jobs advertised online, as reflected by HWOL, are registered nursing and truck driving, with average hourly wages of $26.37 and $17.99, respectively.

In July, there were 2,277 ads for registered nurses and 2,852 for truck drivers.

“Employers are hiring in Alabama,” Alabama Department of Labor Commissioner Tom Surtees said in a release. “The most in-demand jobs posted–meaning jobs available now–are relatively high paying jobs that translate into lifelong careers. Additionally, we know that more jobs are coming, as more companies have announced that they are locating or expanding in Alabama.”

For assistance in applying for jobs, or to determine eligibility for available vocational and education training assistance, visit a local Career Center. A listing of career centers is available at www.joblink.alabama.gov or at www.labor.alabama.gov.

Counties with the lowest unemployment rates for July of 2013 were Shelby County at 4.2 percent, Baldwin County at 5.3 percent and Cullman County at 5.4 percent.

Counties with the highest unemployment rates were: Wilcox County at 16.3 percent, Perry County at 14.7 percent and Dallas County at 14.4 percent.