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Alabama Department of Workforce Secretary Greg Reed announced Monday that the state’s labor force participation rate for January remained unchanged at 57.6 percent. Meanwhile, the percentage of prime-age workers—those aged 25 to 54—rose by three-tenths of a percentage point over the year to 78.9 percent.
“We continue to see gains in the participation of prime-age workers in Alabama,” Reed said. “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 expanding training opportunities and targeting populations that have traditionally been marginalized when it comes to labor force participation.”
Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January was 3.3 percent, remaining steady from December 2024’s rate. However, it marked an increase from January 2024’s rate of 2.9 percent. The rate represents 78,288 unemployed individuals, slightly down from December’s 78,478 but above the 66,845 unemployed in January of last year.
The number of employed individuals in Alabama climbed by 23,534 over the year, reaching a record high of 2,285,631. The civilian labor force also hit a new record, growing by 34,977 over the year to 2,363,919.
Wage and salary employment in the state increased by 25,600 over the year, totaling 2,181,400 jobs. Sectors experiencing notable growth included private education and health services (+8,000), government (+7,400), and manufacturing (+4,500), among others.
“Regarding our jobs count, employers in Alabama added more than 25,000 jobs over the year,” Reed added. “This means that employers remain confident in our job market and are continuing to expand their businesses.”
Counties with the lowest unemployment rates included:
Shelby County – 2.7 percent
Elmore, Limestone, Marshall, and St. Clair Counties – 2.8 percent
Lee, Madison, and Morgan Counties – 2.9 percent
Counties with the highest unemployment rates included:
Greene County – 9.1 percent
Wilcox County – 6.9 percent
Perry County – 6.6 percent
Among major cities, those with the lowest unemployment rates were:
Homewood, Trussville, and Vestavia Hills – 2.4 percent
Pelham – 2.5 percent
Hoover and Madison – 2.6 percent
Meanwhile, cities with the highest unemployment rates included:
Prichard – 7.4 percent
Selma – 6.4 percent
Anniston – 4.8 percent
The Bureau of Labor Statistics employs seasonal adjustment techniques to remove predictable labor force fluctuations, such as holiday hiring or an influx of job seekers following spring graduations.
The Current Population Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, identifies workforce members and measures employment levels. Meanwhile, the establishment survey, conducted by BLS under the U.S. Department of Labor, tracks employer payrolls to measure total job numbers—also known as wage and salary employment.
