Shelby County’s unemployment rate for the month of November came in at 7.3 percent, tied with Madison for the lowest in the state.

The state’s overall unemployment rate dropped to 10.5 percent, down from October’s rate of 10.9 percent. This is the first decrease in the rate since September 2007.

“We are certainly glad to see a drop in the unemployment rate, but we need to keep in mind that a one month drop is not a trend,” said Alabama Department of Industrial Relations Director Tom Surtees in a press release.

The 10.5 percent rate represents 217,350 unemployed, compared to 226,466 in October. Most of the employment gains happened in the fields of trade, transportation and utilities; professional and business services; educational and health services; and manufacturing.

The counties with the lowest unemployment rates were Shelby, Madison and Coffee at 7.8 percent and Pike at 8.2 percent.

Counties with the highest unemployment rates were Wilcox at 24.3 percent, Monroe at 21.1 percent and Dallas at 20.3 percent.