Despite the unemployment rate holding steady, the state's labor force participation rate continues to fall, dropping from 57.6% in August to 57.1% in September, which is significantly lower than the national average of 62.3%.
The Ivey administration revealed Alabama's August unemployment rate remained at 2.6%, down from 3.3% a year ago, with an unemployment count of 58,958, down from 59,359 in July and 74,505 a year ago.
When Alabama’s labor participation rate is low, we all pay the price. Businesses continue to struggle with staffing issues. The worker shortage is contributing to near-record-high inflation, putting added stress on the budgets of Alabama families.
Why have so many Alabamians taken themselves out of the workforce? It is in no small part because Alabama’s government makes it much harder to start a career or change an occupation than most states.
“The people of Alabama want to work, plain and simple, and that combined with our efforts helped us reach the lowest unemployment rate in our state’s history, yet again,” said Governor Ivey.