On Friday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced that Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted December unemployment rate is 2.8 percent. That is up slightly from November’s rate of 2.7%; but still well below December 2021’s rate of 3.1%.
December’s rate represents 63,412 unemployed persons, up slightly from 63,004 in November but down significantly from 69,434 in December 2021.
“As we close out our economic reporting for 2022, I’m pleased to say that Alabama has recovered well from the pandemic and has maintained positive momentum throughout the year,” said Governor Ivey. “We broke records all year long, reminding everyone that Alabama is the best place to live, to work, and open a business. Our wages are up, jobs are plentiful and still growing, and we’re seeing some of our highest employment in major sectors in more than a decade. I couldn’t be more proud of the progress we’ve made.”
Over the year, wage and salary employment increased from 55,900 to 2,120,500. This is a new record high. The largest gains were in the education and health services sector (+15,400), the professional and business services sector (+12,700), and the government sector (+8,600), among others.
Wage and salary employment increased in December by 300. Monthly gains were seen in the trade, transportation, and utilities sector (+3,100), the government sector (+1,100), and the construction sector (+500), among others.
“Our economy is supporting more jobs than ever before, with the addition of nearly 56,000 jobs since last year,” said Alabama Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington. “This represents over-the-year job growth of 2.7%, which, excluding immediate pandemic recovery, is one of the highest job growth rates in more than 20 years. Also, we’ve got record high employment in the trade, transportation, and utilities sector, and more people are working in the manufacturing and construction sectors since 2008.”
The counties with the lowest unemployment rates are Shelby County at 1.5%, Cullman County at 1.6%, and Morgan and Marshall Counties at 1.7%. The counties with the highest unemployment rates are Wilcox County at 9.1%, Clarke County at 6.6%, and Dallas County at 5.3%.
The major cities in Alabama with the lowest unemployment rates are Vestavia Hills and Homewood at 1.3%, Trussville, Madison, Hoover, and Alabaster at 1.4%, and Athens and Northport at 1.7%. Major cities with the highest unemployment rates are Selma at 6.3%, Prichard at 5.2%, and Bessemer at 3.5%.
President Joe Biden is also celebrating the good economic news, which includes slowing of inflation,
“The economy has created more than 10 million jobs since I took office, and the unemployment rate is near a 50-year low,” Biden wrote in an op-ed. “The unemployment rate for Black Americans and Hispanic Americans is near historic lows. The number of Americans filing for bankruptcy is half its pre-pandemic rate. 2021 and 2022 are on track to be the best and second-best years for small business applications on record.”
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