Alabama’s unemployment rate was 2.7% in November, unchanged from October and down from 3.1% in November 2021.
Wage and salary employment — the number of wage-earning employees in the state — hit a new record in November, totaling more than 2.1 million.
Over the year, wage and salary employment increased 51,300, with the largest gains in the education and health services, professional and business services and the trade, transportation and utilities sectors.
“It is encouraging to see that Alabama’s economy is supporting more jobs today than ever in our 203 year history,” Ivey said in a written statement. “While we continue maintaining a low unemployment rate, the fact that our businesses are growing jobs is certainly something to be grateful for this holiday season. We will continue working hard to support Alabamians as we weather a challenging national climate.”
The unemployment rate measures the number of Alabamians who are actively seeking work but not those out of the labor market. November’s rate represents 63,043 unemployed persons, compared to 61,721 in October and 69,688 in November 2021.
“We continue to be encouraged by the job growth in Alabama,” Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington said. “Many of our industries are seeing record high employment, and wages are maintaining strong year over year growth as well.”
Total private average weekly wages were $996.83, an increase of $23.96 over last year.
Counties with the lowest unemployment rates were: Shelby,1.7%; Cullman and Marshall, 1.8%; and Clay and Morgan, 1.9%.
Counties with the highest unemployment rates were: Wilcox, 8.4%; Perry 5.4%; and Dallas, 5.2%
Major cities with the lowest unemployment rates were: Homewood 1.6% and Trussville, 1.5%; Vestavia Hills and Madison, 1.6%; and Alabaster and Hoover, 1.7%
Major cities with the highest unemployment rates were: Selma 6.2%; Prichard, 5.7%; and Bessemer, 3.8%.