Chilton County’s preliminary unemployment rate for August decreased 0.1 percent from the July rate of 6.7 percent.

The county’s preliminary rate for August is 6.6 percent, compared to the revised August 2013 rate of 6.1 percent.

Statewide, Gov. Robert Bentley announced that the preliminary, seasonally adjusted August unemployment rate is 6.9 percent, down from July’s rate of 7.0 percent.

The August rate represents 147,346 unemployed people, compared to 148,652 in July.

“Augusts’ unemployment rate drop is good news for Alabama,” Bentley said in a release. “We’ve seen more jobs come online, and those jobs are being filled by people who want to work. The Alabama workforce is strong, and our commitment to job creation is just as strong. Our job recruitment efforts will continue until every Alabamian who wants a job has the opportunity to find one.”

Wage and salary employment rose in August by 9,400. Monthly gains were seen in the professional and business services sector (plus-4,200), the construction sector (plus-2,300), and the government sector (plus-1,800), among others.

The number of construction jobs the economy supports this month (83,400) marks the most that particular sector has seen since December 2010 (83,500).

“This month’s unemployment rate reflects what usually happens as the summer winds down,” Department of Labor Commissioner Fitzgerald Washington said in a release. “The slight decrease in the labor force reflects people going back to school and no longer searching for work. Additionally, increases in jobs in local government and decreases in jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector further reflect the anticipated trend of people leaving summer employment and returning to school-related jobs.”

Over the year, wage and salary employment increased by 19,500 with gains in the leisure and hospitality sector (plus-6,500), the manufacturing sector (plus-6,200), and the professional and business services sector (plus-5,200), among others.

JobLink, the state’s free online jobs database (www.joblink.alabama.gov), registered 24,413 active job orders in August. The Help Wanted Online (HWOL) data showed 54,161 total job ads were placed online in Alabama, up 1.58 percent from July.

The most advertised careers continue to be: truck drivers, retail supervisors and registered nurses.

“Additionally, all but two counties saw their unemployment rates decrease in August,” Washington said in a release.

Dallas, Greene and Wilcox counties experienced a decrease in their unemployment rate of 1.8 percent, and Wilcox County’s rate decreased by 1.9 percent.

Counties with the lowest unemployment rates are: Shelby County at 5.1 percent, Blount County at 5.7 percent, and Cullman, Lee and Baldwin counties at 5.8 percent.