In a press release sent out by the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations (ADIR) on Friday, records show the state unemployment rate has hit it’s lowest number in the last 15 months.

The state unemployment rate in July fell to 9.7 percent, which is down from the 10.3 percent in June.

Franklin County’s number for unemployment in this declining month hits the charts at 9.9 percent, ranking 36 out of 67 in the highest to lowest category.

The county’s jobless rate increased to 10.8 percent in June, which was up from the May rate of 10.5 percent.

The numbers total 1,284 people who filed unemployment claims.

That number is down 98 people from the previous month’s totals.

The county’s numbers are still holding steadily in the middle of the pack for the northwest Alabama region.

Lauderdale County is at 8.7 percent and Colbert is at 9.5 percent.

Other neighboring counties, however, report slightly higher percentages of unemployment claims.

Lawrence is at 10.6 percent, Marion is at 13.2 percent and Winston is at 14.5 percent.

July’s state rate represents 202,539 unemployed persons, which are down from 216,501 in June and 221,509 in July 2009.

ADIR director Tom Surtees said the last time Alabama’s unemployment rate was at or below 9.7 percent was in April 2009 when the rate was the same.

“We are happy to announce a drop in our unemployment rate,” he said. “This is the lowest rate we have seen in over a year. We have seen our rate stabilizing over the past several months and hopefully, July’s rate will be the beginning of a continual drop in Alabama’s unemployment.”

Wage and salary employment declined 11,200 over the month of July with the majority of the loss resulting from seasonal losses in government.

The counties with the lowest unemployment rates were: Shelby at 6.8 percent, Madison at 7.3 percent and Coffee at 7.4 percent.

The counties with the highest unemployment rates were: Wilcox at 21.9 percent, Greene at 19 percent and Dallas at 18.5 percent.