Alabama’s workforce participation rate was 57.6% in January, unchanged from December, but the number of younger people in the workforce continues to tick up slightly.
The participation rate for those ages 25 to 54 was 78.9%, up three-tenths of a percentage point compared to a year prior, Workforce Secretary Greg Reed announced this morning.
“We continue to see gains in the participation of prime-age workers in Alabama,” Reed said in a written statement. “That means that more than three out of four of these workers are in the labor force, and they are working. We will continue our efforts to increase this number overall, by increasing training opportunities and targeting populations that have traditionally been marginalized when it comes to labor force participation.”
The state’s unemployment rate was 3.3% in January, also unchanged from December but up from January 2024’s 2.9%.
The number of people counted as employed increased by 23,534 over the year to 2.28 million, a new record high, the department said. The civilian labor force also increased to a new record high of 2.36 million, with 34,977 more people joining over the year.
Over the year, wage and salary employment increased by 25,600 to 2.18 million with gains in the private education and health, government and manufacturing sectors, among others.
“Regarding our jobs count, employers in Alabama added more than 25,000 jobs over the year,” Reed said. “This means that employers remain confident in our job market and are continuing to expand their businesses.”
Reed became leader of what was previously the department of labor earlier this year as the state recalibrates its workforce readiness efforts.
Counties with the lowest unemployment rates in January were: Shelby 2.7%; Elmore, Limestone, Marshall and St. Clair, 2.8%; and Lee, Madison and Morgan, 2.9%.
Major cities with the lowest unemployment rates were: Homewood, Trussville and Vestavia Hills, 2.4%, Pelham, 2.5%, and Hoover and Madison, 2.6%.