State maintains record low for unemployment

As another year passed, Alabama continued to maintain its record low unemployment rate by ending December 2019 with an unemployment rate of 2.7 percent. This unemployment rate, announced in late January by the state labor department, is unchanged from November 2019 and is below December 2018’s rate of 3.8 percent.

“I’m so proud to be able to close out this decade with record-breaking economic measures,” said Gov. Kay Ivey. “All year long, we’ve had good news to share, and to be able to end the year, and the decade, on such a positive note is wonderful.

“Earlier this year, Alabama had never reported an unemployment rate lower than 3 percent, and now we’ve had one for the past three months,” Ivey added. “Nearly 84,000 more people have jobs now than last year.  I’m excited about the path Alabama is on and the positive impacts this news has on our people.”

Franklin County had a 2.4 percent unemployment rate in December 2019, with 351 people listed as unemployed. This is a 1 percent difference from December 2018, when the county tallied a 3.4 percent unemployment rate and 482 people listed as unemployed.

In December, there were 2,204,740 employed people in the state of Alabama. This was an increase of 83,971 from December 2018, and the civilian labor force grew by 61,920 throughout the year.

Unemployment saw a new record drop with 61,458 people counted as unemployed, a drop of 22,051 from 2018.

“For the 11th month in a row, our job growth has met or surpassed the nation’s,” said Alabama Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington. “We’ve gained over 46,000 jobs since last December, and we continue to see employers posting job ads.”

Alabama’s job growth rate for December is 2.2 percent. That surpasses the national job growth rate of 1.4 percent.

“Average weekly wages showed significant growth this month, registering at an all-time high,” Washington said. “Additionally, we saw many sectors and subsectors reach all-time wage highs, including manufacturing, with a monthly wage increase of $25.57, and financial activities, with a monthly wage increase of $50.78.”