Alabama set another record for payroll jobs in April, but the state’s labor force participation rate fell to 57.3%, remaining 4.5 percentage points below the national rate, according to preliminary state and federal labor data.
The Alabama Department of Workforce said Friday that the state’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate ticked up to 2.8% in April, up from 2.7% in March but below the 2.9% rate recorded a year earlier. The rate represents 67,115 unemployed Alabamians, compared with 65,467 in March and 69,951 in April 2025.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis showed Alabama’s seasonally adjusted labor force participation rate fell from 57.5% in March to 57.3% in April. Nationally, the labor force participation rate was 61.8%.
The department did highlight a narrower measure, saying 79.3% of prime-age Alabamians, those ages 25 to 54, were working in April. Nationally, 80.7% of people in that age group were employed that month, according to federal labor data.
Payroll employment increased by 13,200 jobs over the year to 2,211,300, a new record high, according to the department.
Construction employment reached 111,800 jobs, the industry’s highest level in Alabama since January 2008. Manufacturing wages also hit a record, with average weekly pay rising to $1,407.08 – the first time the sector has topped $1,400.
Workforce Secretary Greg Reed said growth in construction jobs and manufacturing wages points to continued strength in two of Alabama’s key economic sectors.
“Construction and manufacturing are among the most vital sectors of our economy,” Reed said. “When we continue to see growth and even more importantly, wage growth, in these sectors, that signifies sustained economic growth.”