Alabama’s unemployment rate decreased slightly in March to 2.9%, matching the all-time low from the period before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, the state said Friday.
The preliminary, seasonally adjusted jobless rate declined from 3% in February and was well below the March 2021 rate of 3.7%. It matched the state’s previous record low unemployment rate of 2.9% in September 2019.
The March rate represented about 65,500 unemployed people compared to about 82,400 in March 2021, according to a statement from the governor’s office. Wage and salary employment increased by 40,100 positions over the year, with the largest hikes in the trade, transportation, and utilities sector, followed by hospitality.
Shelby County in metro Birmingham had the state’s lowest jobless rate at 1.7% followed by Cullman County in north-central Alabama at 1.8%. Wilcox County, located in rural west Alabama, had the worst unemployment rate, 8.8%.
Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
