MONTGOMERY, Ala. - A new report says births to unmarried women in Alabama are on the rise.

The report from the Center for Demographic Research at Auburn University at Montgomery says 42.6 percent of the live births in Alabama in 2012 were to unmarried women. That was up from 41.9 percent in 2010.

The reports says Macon, Wilcox, Sumter, Dallas, Lowndes, Perry and Greene counties had at least seven out of 10 children born to unmarried women in 2012

The center's director, Yanyi Djamba, says counties with the highest rates of births to unmarried women tend to have lower household incomes and higher unemployment rates.

Shelby County had the lowest rate of births to unmarried women at 17.7 percent. That county traditionally has one of lowest unemployment rates among Alabama's 67 counties.