The unemployment rate in Dallas County mirrored that of the State of Alabama overall in April as both rates inched slightly higher.

In Alabama, the unemployment rate moved from 9.2 percent in March to 9.3 percent in April. For Dallas County, the rate moved from 15.3 percent in March to 15.4 percent in April.

In both cases, the 2011 figures are better than those of a year ago.

In Dallas County’s case, the unemployment figure for April 2010 was 16.8 percent.

The national unemployment rate for April also saw an increase over March figures, coming in at 9 percent compared to March’s 8.8 percent.

“It appears that Alabama followed the national trend this month, as we experienced a slight increase in our unemployment rate,” Alabama Department of Industrial Relations director Tom Surtees said. “As I’ve noted before, these kinds of minor fluctuations are to be expected as we emerge from a recession.”

Counties with the lowest unemployment rates were: Shelby County (6.5 percent), Coffee County (7 percent) and Pike County (7.2 percent). Counties with the highest unemployment rates were: Clarke County (16.1 percent), Perry County (16.2 percent) and Wilcox County (20.9 percent).