Recent jobs data shows that the unemployment rate in Chambers County is continuing to drop.

According to a report from the Alabama Department of Labor, Chambers County saw unemployment drop from 713 people in July, or 4.6 percent, to 640 people in August, or 4.2 percent, which matches the unemployment percentage of August 2017.

In relation, the county’s civil labor force also saw a slight drop, from 15,366 people in July to 15,332 in August, a difference of 34 people. A year ago, the number of available people to work was at 15,090, meaning the county has gained a net of 242 additional workers in the last year.

Employment was also higher in August, with Chambers seeing an increase from 14,653 people to 14,692, comparable to the 14,463 people working in August of last year.

Chambers County and the state of Alabama are making strides to keep people employed and are bringing in more people with new jobs.

Chris Busby, who is in charge of community development with the Chambers County Development Authority, said it was always a victory when lower unemployment is announced.

“Typically we will see an improvement when the summer ends,” he said. “We’re happy when people are gainfully employed.”

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that if there are great jobs, people will want to move to an area. Thankfully, efforts by state and local groups have made the idea of moving to Alabama and the Greater Valley Area more appealing.

The various councils and commissioners in the Greater Valley Area have been hard at work to bring in new industry and recent months have seen a number of businesses planning to move here.

Along with this, there have been a number of additional improvements that raise the quality of life.

“We want everyone to earn a comfortable living and this is a sign that the local economy continues to be strong,” Busby said.

As always, everyone wants this momentum to continue.