Alabama’s June unemployment rate drops to 4.6%

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Alabama”s unemployment rate fell to 4.6 percent during June marking a significant improvement over June 2016’s rate of 5.8 percent, according to data released Friday by Governor Kay Ivey‘s office.

“Alabama’s unemployment continues to drop, and our economy continues to add jobs. As of now, we are only two-tenths of a percentage point away from catching up to the national unemployment rate,” said Ivey. “Even though our numbers are improving, I continue to pledge to work even harder to make sure that any Alabamian who wants a job can find one.”

Wage and salary employment increased in June by 6,000 to 2,016,400, and monthly gains were seen in the fields of:

  • Hospitality — an increase of 6,000
  • Leisure and hospitality sector — an increase of 6,000
  • Professional and business services sector — an increase of 1,000
  • Other services sector — an increase of 1,200

“For the third month in a row, we can report that our wage and salary employment is topping two million jobs. This has been a milestone we’ve strived to reach for years, and is an excellent indicator of economic health,” said Alabama Department of Labor Commissioner Fitzgerald Washington. “We’ve added 46,100 private sector jobs since January, and our over the year job growth rate was 1.8%, the highest it’s been in 11 years!”

The last time the yearly growth in wage and salary employment measured more than 1.8% was in June 2006, when it measured 2.2%. 

Alabama June 2017 unemploymentCounties with the lowest unemployment rates are:

  • Shelby County: 3.8%
  • Elmore, Cullman, and Baldwin Counties: 4.3%
  • Marshall County: 4.5%

Counties with the highest unemployment rates are:

  • Wilcox County: 13.5%
  • Clarke County: 10.6%
  • Perry County: 10.2%.

Major cities with the lowest unemployment rates are:

  • Vestavia Hills: 3.2%
  • Hoover: 3.6%
  • Homewood: 3.7%

Major cities with the highest unemployment rates are:

  • Prichard and Selma: 10.1%
  • Anniston: 7.0%
  • Mobile and Bessemer: 6.5%