DEMOPOLIS &8212; Marengo County&8217;s jobless rate rocketed more than one percent for the month of May, settling at 6 percent &8212; 2 percent higher than May 2007.

Tom Surtees, Director of the state department of industrial relations, said this seasonal spike &8212; which was a statewide trend in May &8212; is nothing uncommon.

In all, 110 additional Marengo County residents filed for unemployment in May bringing the county&8217;s total number of out of work residents to 7,571.

The state&8217;s unemployment rate jumped .7 points to 4.7 percent, but remains below the comparable national jobless rate of 5.5 percent.

Wilcox County, which posted an increase of 4.2 points in May, leads the state with the highest jobless rate with 13.7 percent of its labor force in need of jobs.