Reaction: Alabama's Unemployment Rate Improving

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By Jessica Gertler

Story Created: Apr 20, 2012 at 4:03 PM CDT

Story Updated: Apr 20, 2012 at 9:47 PM CDT

Alabama's unemployment rate falls for the eighth straight month, but are folks feeling more confident about the economy?

Alabama's unemployment rate is now sitting at 7.3 percent, and while that seems like great news, job seekers say they're still having a hard time finding work.

"I'm out here. I'm out of school right now looking for a job," says Larry Coleman. "I haven't found any work yet."

For more than 6 months, Coleman has been coming to the Alabama Career Center searching for work.

He says he's looking for "any kind of job right now. Any thing is better than not having a job."

And take Benitez Sankey who says he's been on the hunt for several years.

"It's hard to find a job. You know I've been to like several places looking. I've been going through a lot but I haven't given up yet," Sankey says.

But Governor Bentley says things may be turning around. Last month's unemployment rate dropped to 7.3 percent. That's down from 7.5 percent in February and a high of ten percent in July 2011.

"7.3 percent obviously that's the fastest of any state in the country as far as the dropping rate of unemployment," says Bentley. "We are very proud of that, and I think that that's due to a lot of things, but I think it's primarily due to the economy picking up."

Montgomery business owners at My Place and Leslie Bailey's Extraordinary Events say in the last year, they're feeling more confident about the economy, which means more hires could be on the way.

"People who might be sitting at home they say do you have any jobs? And we do! And it turns out we help the economy," owner Leslie Bailey says. "That's good news all the way around!"

The last time Alabama's unemployment rate was this low was in December 2008.

Governor Bentley has promised not to take a salary until the jobless rate reaches five percent.

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