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Alabama unemployment rate dips to pre-pandemic record-low

By MARY SELL, Alabama Daily News

Alabama’s unemployment rate dipped to 2.9% in March, tying a record low from September 2019, Gov. Kay Ivey said this morning.

The March rate compares to 3% in February and 3.7% in March 2021.

“Alabama has been on a roll as our folks have been eager to get to work, and the fact that we have once again hit our record low unemployment rate is proof positive of that,” Ivey said in a written release. “We are not relenting our efforts, and I am confident Alabama will continue powering in the right direction because of our hardworking men and women.”

The unemployment rate measures the number of Alabamians who are actively seeking work. March’s rate represents 65,485 unemployed persons, the lowest ever on record, compared to 68,663 in February and 82,443 in March 2021.

“At no point in Alabama’s history have we recorded fewer people as unemployed,” Alabama Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington said in the statement. “Alabamians are working, businesses are hiring, and we are getting back to normal with every passing month.”

The civilian labor force increased by 9,901 over the month to 2.27 million, according to Labor.  The number of people counted as employed rose by 36,734 over the year to 2.2 million.

“We are continuing to see healthy job growth, with more than 40,000 jobs gained since last year,” Washington said. “Wages in several sectors saw growth again this month, and two sectors reached an even higher record since last month.”

Counties with the lowest unemployment rates in March were: Shelby, 1.7%; Cullman, 1.8%; and Morgan, Marshall and Limestone, 1.9%.  Major cities with the lowest unemployment rates were: Alabaster and Vestavia Hills, 1.4%; Homewood, 1.5%; and Hoover and Trussville,  1.6%.  

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