Alabama's unemployment has risen to 11.1 percent, the highest figure in 26 years.

The state department of industrial relations announced the January figures Wednesday.

They are up from December's revised rate of 10.9 percent.

The last time Alabama recorded 11.1 percent unemployment was January 1984.

The counties with the lowest unemployment are Madison at 8.7 percent, Shelby at 8.8 percent and Coffee at 9 percent.

The counties with the highest unemployment are Wilcox at 27.4 percent, Monroe at 22.4 percent, and Conecuh at 21.8 percent.

Houston County’s unemployment rate is 10 percent.

There seems to be some positive news when it comes to the job market. If you're already employed, there's a good chance you'll keep your job.

Debbie Cain, Branch Mgr., Manpower, Dothan, says, “out of 18,000 employers surveyed through the Outlook Survey, 73% say that they're going to stay steady with their hiring so that means they're going to add or they're going to remain stable which is huge for those of us who are employed.”

Twelve out of thirteen industry sectors are indicating they will be hiring more workers in the second quarter. Two of those industries anticipate increasing staffing levels by double digit percentages; leisure and hospitality at 17% and business services at 15 %.

“Those areas if people have the skill set or transferable skills that they can go into these areas these are two places i would suggest that they visit,” said Cain.

Temporary services added 48,000 jobs across the nation in February. Experts say when they see double digit growth in their numbers it's a good indicator of employment growth.

“The customers and the employees are saying you know what we're going to test the waters, we're going to make sure everything is stable, and solid going forward so we're going to do this on a temporary basis first and in hopes that we're going to hire this person permanently,” said Cain.

The only industry showing a negative hiring trend is the government.