Alabama Unemployment Jumps to 9.8 % for May

    MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Alabama’s unemployment rate jumped to
9.8 percent for May.
    The April rate had been 9.0 percent. The state Department of
Industrial Relations says May’s figure represents nearly 209,000
unemployed people.
    Industrial Relations Director Tom Surtees said Friday the nation
is still gripped in a serious recession and Alabama is not immune
from its effects.
    Counties with the lowest unemployment were Shelby at 6.6
percent, Madison at 6.9 percent, and Coffee at 7.4 percent. The
counties with the highest rates were Wilcox at 23.9 percent,
Lowndes at 18.0 percent, and Dallas at 17.7 percent.