Ala. unemployment grows to 6.9 percent

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - The unemployment rate for Alabama is out for January 2013.

You might call it a mixed bag.

THE STATE NUMBERS

There are nearly 150,000 people looking for work.

The unemployment rate for January stood at 6.9 percent.

While the unemployment rate is higher than it was in December, it’s lower than where it was when last year started.

It also marks Alabama's third straight month under seven percent unemployed.

  THE LOCAL NUMBERS

The unemployment rate for Mobile County stood at 8.7 percent for January.

In Baldwin County, the figure was 7.5 percent.

WHO'S HIRING?

If you want to get a good idea of how hiring is going in Mobile, one place to talk to is the office of Mobile Works, Incorporated, at the Alabama Career Center in Mobile.

Sydney Raine, the president of Mobile Works, Incorporated, said, "I can remember a number of years ago, we were looking at about 10 percent (unemployment.) Now, we're down to 6.9. It says that people who really want to work are able to find employment in our community."

Raine said shipbuilding, with Austal and Ingalls Shipyards, has become a big industry in the area, and aerospace is growing, too.

He said, "With (the) Airbus announcement, we are, right now, sponsoring about pretty close to 90 young people that are in classes now being trained, out at the aviation training school at Brookley."

AEROSPACE EDUCATION

The aviation training school is the Alabama Aviation Center.

Its run by Enterprise State Community College, and is already teaching classes.

Kyle Cook, the director of the center, said, "We are working with ST Aerospace, currently. We have 52 of their employees in our program, right now in a co-op program, and, recently, they just said they wanted to ramp that up to 100 students. Airbus is going to come tour our facility right after the groundbreaking on April 9."

Cook also said registration begins for the summer semester April 3.

He said, "We teach aircraft maintenance, anything from structures and hydraulics, to composites and aircraft engine maintenance as well, and, for anybody that wants to receive their aircraft and power plant certificate from the FAA, the fastest route is to do a two year program with a certificate at school with the FAA (the Federal Aviation Administration)."

OTHER FIELDS

Nw seasons bring new openings in other fields.

Pamela Ware with Mobile Works cited one.

She said, "Hospitality:  that industry usually picks up around the summertime."