MONTGOMERY — North Alabama continues to lead the way as the state posted record-setting unemployment rate numbers for March.
Gov. Kay Ivey announced today that Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted March unemployment rate is 2.3%, a record low, down from February’s rate of 2.5% and below March 2022’s rate of 2.5%.
Among the nine counties with the lowest unemployment rates, five are in the Tennessee Valley – Morgan, Marshall, Madison, Limestone and Cullman counties.
The counties with the lowest unemployment rates are Shelby County at 1.4%, Morgan and Cullman counties at 1.5%, and Blount, Elmore, Limestone, Madison, Marshall, and St. Clair counties at 1.6%.
The other North Alabama counties (alphabetically) and their rates are Colbert, 2.2%; DeKalb, 1.8%; Franklin, 1.9%; Jackson, 1.9%; Lauderdale, 1.9%; and Lawrence, 1.7%.
Madison and Athens are among the lowest rates of the state’s major cities. Madison, Hoover, Trussville and Vestavia Hills posted a 1.3% unemployment rate; Athens had a 1.6% rate for March.
Major cities with the highest unemployment rates are Selma at 5.3%, Prichard at 3.9%, and Bessemer and Gadsden at 2.9%.
Among the other area cities, Decatur was 1.7%; Florence, 1.9%; and Huntsville, 1.8%.
Last month’s rate represents 53,053 unemployed people in the state, compared to 56,166 in February and 58,074 in March 2022. The number of people counted as unemployed is also a record low.
“We’re almost a quarter into 2023, and we are already seeing record-breaking success when it comes to Alabama’s economy,” said Ivey. “We have been enjoying a period of low unemployment, high wages and high jobs count for some time now, and I believe that even greater economic achievements are on their way.
“We will not back down on our commitment to continue bringing quality, high-paying jobs to Alabama.”
The number of people counted as employed also reached a record high in March, registering 2,236,706 people, a 7,446 increase from last year.
“Along with today’s great unemployment rate news, we’re also proud to announce that our economy is continuing its trend of gaining jobs,” said Alabama Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington. “Our economy is supporting nearly 48,000 more jobs now than last year. This is amazing growth, especially since there are pre-existing labor concerns nationwide.”
Over the year, wage and salary employment increased 47,200, with gains in the professional and business services sector (plus-10,000), the private education and health services sector (plus-8,900), and the government sector (plus-8,400), among others.
Wage and salary employment increased in March by 3,400. Monthly gains were seen in the government sector (plus-2,100), the leisure and hospitality sector (plus-1,700), and the financial activities sector (plus-800), among others.
The counties with the highest unemployment rates are Wilcox County at 6.9%, Greene County at 4.4%, and Clarke and Dallas counties at 4.1%.
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