Alabama’s overall labor force participation rate was 57.5% in July, unchanged from June.
For workers ages 25-54, there was a one-tenth of a percentage increase to 79.3% in July.
Over the year, that “prime age” number increased by one and a half percentage points from 77.8%, Alabama Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington said on Friday.
Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.8% in July, down from June’s 2.9% but up from July 2023’s rate of 2.4%.
“While we all are working to increase our labor force participation rate, the continued growth, especially year over year, in the number of prime-age Alabamians who are holding down a job, remains a positive trend in the state’s economy,” Washington said in a written statement. “All other economic indicators showed improvement this month as well.”
The unemployment rate represents 66,591 people actively looking for work, compared to 67,782 in June and 55,583 in July 2023.
But state leaders are more concerned about that low labor participation rate, the number of people sitting out of the workforce. It’s more than five percentage points below the national rate of 62.7%.
In the spring, lawmakers and Gov. Kay Ivey approved a package of bills, including some tax credits and the reorganization of workforce boards, which they hope will boost labor participation.
“The labor force continues to increase – by more than 30,000 people in the last year – and those people are getting jobs,” Washington said. “Our economy added more than 52,000 jobs in the past year, which is great news for Alabama.”
Counties with the lowest unemployment rates in July were: Shelby and Morgan counties, 2.5%; Marshall and Cullman counties, 2.6%; and St. Clair, Madison, Limestone, and Elmore counties, 2.7%.
Major cities with the lowest unemployment rates were: Vestavia Hills, 2.2%, Trussville and Hoover, 2.3%; and Alabaster, Homewood and Madison, 2.4%.