Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced on Friday that Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted October unemployment rate is 2.7%. That is up slightly from September’s rate of 2.6% but below October 2021’s rate of 3.1%.
61,760 Alabamians were counted as unemployed, which is down from 70,569 in October 2021. The U.S. unemployment rate also ticked up from 3.3% in September to 3.4% in October.
“Despite the challenging economic climate nationally, Alabama continues to hold steady. At 2.7 percent, we are now supporting more jobs than at any point in our state’s history,” Ivey stated. “Our wages continue to move in the right direction, more world-leading firms are relocating here every day, and our workforce development efforts are producing newly credentialed workers almost every day. It’s more than apparent that we have much to be thankful for as we head into the holiday season.”
Over the year, wage and salary employment increased by 46,600, with substantial gains in the education and health services sector (+11,700), the professional and business services sector (+9,500), and the manufacturing sector (+6,800), among others.
Wage and salary employment increased in October by 17,100. Monthly gains were seen in the professional and business services sector (+3,900), the government sector (+3,600), and the trade, transportation, and utilities sector (+2,600), among others.
“Alabama experienced remarkable job growth, both over the month and over the year, in October,” said Alabama Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington. “This growth actually set a brand-new record in Alabama for how many jobs our economy is supporting. We have nearly 47,000 more jobs now than we did last year. That’s extremely encouraging.”
Total private weekly wages increased in October to $1,017.98, a new record high.
Wages in the construction industry, the trade, transportation, and utilities industry, as well as the professional and business services industry, saw new record highs in October.
The counties with the lowest unemployment rates are Shelby County at 1.8%, Cullman County at 1.9%, and Marshall County at 2.0%. The counties with the highest unemployment rates are Wilcox County at 9.6%, Lowndes County at 6.6%, and Perry County at 6.5%.
The major Alabama cities with the lowest unemployment rates are: Homewood at 1.6%, Vestavia Hills and Trussville at 1.7%, and Alabaster and Madison at 1.8%. Major cities with the highest unemployment rates are Selma at 7.2%, Prichard at 6.5%, and Anniston, Gadsden, and Bessemer at 4.4%.
Inflation and the high cost of living is continuing to attract more Alabamians into the labor force. The total size of the labor force in October was 2,301,932, which is up from 2,291,928 in September. The labor participation rate also increased to 57.4% in October from 57.1% in September and 56.4% in October 2021. The state’s labor participation rate of 57.4% still trails the national average of 62.3% in October, which is up from 62.2% in September and 61.8% in October 2021.
Gov. Ivey recently won re-election in a landslide. The Ivey campaign emphasized her record of creating jobs and the historically low unemployment rates achieved under her administration.
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