Alabama’s monthly unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.1%, the state said Friday, holding steady for the fifth straight month.

The December rate was below the level of a year before, 4.7%, and better than the national jobless rate of 3.9%. Total weekly wages from private employers were $973.14 for the month, representing a yearly hike of $26.65.

Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington said most of the challenges facing the state workforce were related to the COVID-19 pandemic. An additional 7,000 people were employed compared to the month before, he said in a statement.

Wilcox County in western Alabama had the state’s highest unemployment rate at 10.3%, while Shelby County in suburban Birmingham and Cullman County in north Alabama were lowest at 1.8%.