MONTGOMERY – As the weather heats up, so does the job market – especially in North Alabama.
According to the latest figures from the Alabama Department of Labor, five counties in the region have unemployment rates of 2% or lower and the city of Madison is third-lowest among major cities at 1.8%.
Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington announced today that Alabama’s labor force participation rate for May held steady at 57.5%. The percentage of prime-age workers increased by one-tenth of a percentage point to 79.2% over the month.
Over the year, this number increased by 1.6 points from 77.6%. Prime-age workers are those aged 25-54 years.
Counties with the lowest unemployment rates are Shelby County at 1.8%, Morgan County at 1.9%, and Cullman, Elmore, Limestone, Madison, and Marshall counties at 2%.
Among the major cities in the region, Athens’ unemployment rate for May was 2%, down from April’s rate of 2.1% but up from 1.7% a year ago; Decatur is 1.9% for May, 2.1% in April and 1.7% in May 2023; Florence was 2.4% in May, down from 2.7% in April, up from 2% a year ago; Huntsville’s rate for May was 2.1%, down from 2.4% in April but an increase from 1.9% in May 2023; and Madison’s 1.8% rate for May is down from 1.9% in April but up from 1.4% last May.
“Our over the year growth in prime age workers participating in the labor force continues to be encouraging,” said Washington. “We’re also seeing record high numbers in our civilian labor force and the number of people who are working.
“In May, nearly 38,000 more people decided to enter into the job market than at the same time last year.”
Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 3%, down slightly from April 2023’s revised rate of 3.1%. The May rate is higher than May 2023’s rate of 2.3%. The rate represents 70,679 unemployed people, compared to 72,045 in April and 52,341 in May 2023.
The number of people counted as employed increased by 19,648 over the year to 2,266,164, a new record high. The civilian labor force also increased to 2,336,843, with 37,986 more people joining over the year. This is also a record high.
Over the year, wage and salary employment increased by 49,200 to 2,208,400, a record high, with gains in the private education and health sector (+11,500), the government sector (+9,200), and the manufacturing sector (+8,600), among others.
“This job growth is indicative of positive trends in our economy,” said Washington. “As we continue to set higher and higher record jobs count numbers, we’re also seeing wage growth in many sectors, with some hitting new record highs.”
The trade, transportation, and utilities sector reached a record high weekly wage with $881.01, up $56.88 from last year.
Major cities with the lowest unemployment rates are Trussville at 1.6%, Homewood and Vestavia Hills at 1.7%, and Alabaster, Hoover, and Madison at 1.8%. Major cities with the highest unemployment rates are Selma at 5.3%, Prichard at 4.3%, and Bessemer at 3.4%.at 3.7%.
Counties with the highest unemployment rates are: Wilcox County at 6.8%, Perry County at 4.5%, and Dallas County at 4.4%.
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