Chilton County got good news for the first time in a while Friday when the state released last month’s unemployment numbers.

The percentage of Chilton County residents without a job went down in July, bucking a recent trend of rising unemployment.

The county’s unemployment rate for last month was 9.8, down for a yearly high of 10 percent in June.

Though slight, any improvement is still improvement, and we will gladly take it.

We don’t have to look very hard to find people hurting, who need work to continue to provide for their families.

To that end, the Alabama Legislature passed a law earlier this month to add up to an additional 20 weeks of emergency benefits for those without work.These federally funded benefits are available to anyone who has gone through all 50 weeks of their benefits on or after March 29, 2009.

Some of President Obama’s economic stimulus spending has been controversial, but with many parts of the country seeing near well over 10 percent, extending benefits seems like the least the government can do to help families.

Claimants who are eligible for additional benefits will be notified in writing by the Department of Industrial Relations by Aug. 28 and given instructions on how to file for the benefits. Anyone with questions about the benefits should call 1-877-490-1642.