Both the county and state saw major drops in the jobless rate in July, according to the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations.

Shelby County’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.8 percent, well below June’s rate of 7.7 percent. Alabama’s unemployment rate dropped to 9.7 percent in July, down from 10.3 percent in June.

The state unemployment rate of 9.7 percent represents 202,539 unemployed.

Alabama Department of Industrial Relations Director Tom Surtees said Alabama’s unemployment rate has stabilized over the past few months.

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

The counties with the lowest unemployment rate were Shelby at 6.8 percent, Madison at 7.3 percent and Coffee at 7.4 percent. The counties with the highest unemployment rate were Wilcox at 21.9 percent, Greene at 19 percent and Dallas at 18.3 percent.