Ala. second in unemployment drop

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Alabama is tied with three other states for the nation's second biggest drop in unemployment in November.

Alabama's rate fell 0.6 percentage points to 8.7 percent. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says Minnesota, South Carolina and Utah tied Alabama. The biggest drop was 0.8 percentage points in Michigan.

Alabama's rate dropped 0.5 percentage points in October. That tied Alabama for first with Michigan and Minnesota.

The director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama, Sam Addy, says this year has ended much better than was forecast at the start of the year.

Alabama is experiencing its lowest employment in nearly three years, but it still has a ways to go. The state remains slightly above the national unemployment figure of 8.6 percent.