MONTGOMERY – With the city of Madison setting the pace with a 2.3% jobless rate, several North Alabama cities and six counties have the lowest unemployment rates in Alabama.
However, the area’s major cities all reported an increase in their jobless rates from August to September, according to statistics released today by the Alabama Department of Workforce.
According to Workforce Secretary Greg Reed, Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted September unemployment rate is 2.8%, down from August 2025’s rate of 2.9%. September’s rate is lower than September 2024’s rate of 3.3%.
The rate represents 66,711 unemployed people, compared to 68,156 in August and 76,773 in September 2024.
The counties with the lowest unemployment rates are Shelby County at 2.3%, Limestone, Elmore, and Blount counties at 2.4%, and Autuaga, Madison, Marshall, Morgan, and St. Clair counties at 2.5%.
“Our unemployment numbers continue to be positive, showing significant gains over the year,” said Reed. “We are continuing to see our prime age workers participating in the labor force. Nearly 80% of workers who should be working are working. This is very positive news.”
While the area’s major cities have low September jobless rates, they all reported an uptick from August. Madison’s rate is up from 2.0% in August; Athens has a 2.4% unemployment rate for September but it is up from 2.1% in August.
Other area cities have similar increases – Decatur is at 2.6%, over August’s 2.2%; Huntsville’s 2.5% rate is up over 2.4% in August; Florence is 3.3% for September, over August’s 3.1% rate; and Gadsden is 3.7%, over 3.3% in August.
On a positive note, all of the cities’ unemployment rates for September are lower than a year ago.
Huntsville added nearly 3,000 jobs since September 2024 when it had a 2.7% unemployment rate, according to the Workforce Department. The other cities also showed job gains from a year ago: Athens (2.5% jobless rate in September 2024) added almost 300 jobs; Decatur (2.7% rate in September 2024) picked up more than 300 jobs; Florence (3.4% rate in September 2024) had more than 270 jobs added; Gadsden (3.9% rate in September 2024) showed a more than 200-job increase; and Madison (2.5% rate in September 2024) added more than 250 jobs from September 2024 to September 2025.
Meanwhile, Alabama’s labor force participation rate for August held steady at 57.7%, Reed said. The percentage of prime-age workers increased by a tenth of a percentage point to 78.4% over the month. Prime-age workers are those aged 25-54 years.
The number of people counted as employed increased by 28,752 over the year to 2,310,238. The civilian labor force also increased to 2,376,949, with 18,690 more people joining over the year.
Over the year, wage and salary employment increased by 22,000 to 2,213,000, with gains in the private education and health services sector (+9,200), the construction sector (+4,700), and the leisure and hospitality sector (+4,100), among others.
Reed said maintaining this progress will require continued partnership between industry leaders, workforce development programs, and policymakers.
“We’re committed to supporting workers with the training, resources, and opportunities they need to thrive in a rapidly evolving economy,” he said. “The data shows that our efforts are paying off.”
Counties with the highest unemployment rates are Greene County at 5.9%, Perry County at 5.8%, and Wilcox County at 5.7%.
Major cities with the lowest unemployment rates are Pelham at 2.1%; Vestavia Hills, Trussville, and Homewood at 2.2%; and Madison and Hoover at 2.3%. Major cities with the highest unemployment rates are: Prichard at 6.6%, Selma at 4.9%, and Anniston at 4.1%.
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