By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News
Alabama led the nation in lowering unemployment over the last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Based on workforce data recently released by BLS, Alabama’s unemployment rate drop from 3.8% in November 2018 to 2.7% in November 2019 is the largest of any state in the nation. Workforce statistics for December won’t be available until late January.
The report along with an interactive map is available via the BLS website HERE.
Alabama’s -1.1 percentage point drop was followed by Colorado with −1.0 point, and South Carolina and Utah a−0.8 percentage point each. The only states with significant unemployment increases over the same period were Mississippi with +0.9 percentage points and and Nebraska with +0.3 percentage points.
Gov. Kay Ivey and the Alabama Dept. of Labor last week announced that the state’s unemployment rate had sunk to a record low of 2.7% for November.
The latest reports show 2,203,495 employed persons in Alabama, a new record high, and represents an over-the-year increase of 82,609, according to the department. The report also shows 61,963 people were counted as unemployed, a new record low, down from 83,298 in November 2018. Average weekly earnings in November were $863.11, up $21.56 from November 2018, according to Labor.