Alabama jobless rate increases to 7 percent

Alabama's unemployment rate is on the rise.

Gov. Robert Bentley announced Friday the state's unemployment rate for July was 7 percent. That's two-tenths of a percent higher than the June rate of 6.8 percent.

Last month's rate also is higher than the July 2013 jobless rate of 6.3 percent.

Bentley's office says the state added 19,400 jobs in a year. Many of those new positions are in manufacturing.

But unemployment can still rise as more people enter or re-enter the job market.

Wilcox County has the state's highest unemployment rate at 18.4 percent, followed by Dallas County at 16.3 percent and Perry County at 15.7 percent.

Shelby County has Alabama's lowest jobless rate at 5.3 percent. Baldwin County is second at 6.1 percent, followed by Lee County at 6.2 percent.