Alabama unemployment rate drops to 6.2 percent
The Alabama unemployment rate dropped two tenths of a point in February compared with the previous month. According to its preliminary unemployment estimates the Alabama Department of Labor (ADOL) reports 13,205 seasonally-adjusted jobs were added in the private sector last month, which is 30,728 more people employed than February one year ago. That change drops the state’s January unemployment rate of 6.4% down to 6.2%. “We are once again announcing that we have more people working in Alabama than have been over the last eight years,” said ADOL Secretary Fitzgerald Washington. “The labor force continues to grow, showing that jobseekers have confidence in our economy and are willing to enter the job market. Wage and salary employment is fewer than 20,000 jobs away from reaching the two million-mark milestone. We aren’t exactly where we need to be yet, but we are surely getting there.” Alabama’s civilian labor force measured 2,203,868 in February, the highest it’s been since June 2011, when it measured 2,202,354. “All of our counties and metros saw their rates drop this month, and 57 counties and 11 metros saw over-the -year declines,” continued Washington. Counties with the lowest unemployment rates are: Shelby County: 4.5% Elmore County: 5.0% Madison and Lee Counties: 5.2% Counties with the highest unemployment rates are: Wilcox County: 14.9% Clarke County: 11.2% Lowndes County: 10.7% Major cities with the lowest unemployment rates are: Vestavia Hills: 4.0% Homewood: 4.1% Hoover: 4.3% Major cities with the highest unemployment rates are: Selma: 10.8% Prichard: 10.3% Bessemer: 8.5%.
Alabama unemployment rate increases slightly in April
Alabama’s jobless rate ticked up slightly to 5.8 percent in April after months of steady decline. The state’s unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in March, which was the lowest level since July 2008. Alabama’s unemployment rate is still above the national average of 5.4 percent. Gov. Robert Bentley said there were positives in the monthly numbers. Alabama Department of Labor Commissioner Fitzgerald Washington says the state is getting close to the number of jobs the economy supported prior to the recession. Shelby County has the lowest unemployment rate in Alabama at 3.6 percent. Wilcox County has the highest at 13.8 percent. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
