The Alabama Department of Labor releases a yearly comparison showing online job ads at 106,303, up 30% from April 2021. The monthly total of online job ads in April was 41,315.
Online advertisements for jobs in Alabama showed a continued lack of nurses and retail workers in the state. According to the Alabama Department of Labor’s Labor Market Information (LMI), Registered Nurses have been the most advertised positions in Alabama for well over a year.
Nurses lead in advertisements by a substantial margin, followed by retail salespersons, retail supervisors, wholesale and manufacturing sales reps, and software developers.
Unemployment has decreased significantly, with a rate of 2.8%, down from 3.1% in April. However, Alabama institutions are ramping up their advertising campaigns for positions that have been unfilled since the COVID-19 pandemic.
While Registered Nurses ads totaled 6,095, retail salespersons ads came in second with 2,960.
Alabama faces a unique problem with nurse staffing. According to the Alabama State Nurses Association (ASNA), nurse pay in Alabama is around 8% lower than in bordering states, making it increasingly difficult to hire and keep necessary nursing staff.
According to Nursing Solutions Inc., Alabama, amongst other southeastern states, has the highest turnover rate in the nation.
The ASNA has been pursuing state funding to increase nurses’ salaries in the state for years. The desired funding would help Alabama hospitals acquire and keep more nurses, according to the ASNA.
Many nurses and administrators have long complained about less-than-optimal wages for nurses and nursing staff. According to ASNA President Dr. Lindsey Harris, the lack of fair wages is the main driving force behind the lack of staffing in nursing.
There are labor shortages for other employers as well.
Walmart/Sam’s had the third most advertised jobs in the state (1077).
Nationally, retail positions have shed nearly 61,000 jobs. Walmart has reported disappointing national sales and earnings. In April, Walmart said it had over-hired and then reduced its headcount through attrition.
Alabama Walmarts, however, seem to have understaffing issues, with hundreds of available positions being advertised across the state.
Wages have also continued to rise in Alabama, especially in occupations that have consistently lacked staff.
Some 42% of advertised jobs have wages over $50,000, up drastically from 27% in October of 2021.
In April, the top two employers posting the most online ads were UAB Health System with 1,496 and Huntsville Hospital with 1,363.
The rest of the top 10 were: Walmart/Sam’s (1,077), Auburn University (598), Regions (579), Encompass Health (577), Baptist Health (527), East Alabama Medical Center (520), USA Health System (515), and University of Alabama (513).
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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