Alabama's August Labor Force Participation Rate Unchanged at 57.5%: Jobs Count Increases by More Than 40,000 Over the Year

September 20, 2024 - MONTGOMERY – Alabama Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington announced today that Alabama's labor force participation rate for August is unchanged at 57.5%. The percentage of prime-age workers increased by one-tenth of a percentage point to 79.4% over the month. Over the year, this number increased by 1.6 percentage points from 77.8%. Prime-age workers are those aged 25-54 years.

"Prime age workers are continuing to do their part here in Alabama," said Washington. "Each month, we move closer and closer to 80 percent of this population either working or looking for work. This is also reflected in our civilian labor force population increasing to a new record high, along with the number of people who are employed."

Alabama's preliminary, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 2.8%, unchanged from July 2024's revised rate. August's rate is above August 2023's rate of 2.5%. The rate represents 66,619 unemployed persons, compared to 66,566 in July and 58,570 in August 2023.

The number of people counted as employed increased by 19,816 over the year to 2,276,999, a new record high. The civilian labor force also increased to a new record high of 2,343,618, with 27,865 more people joining over the year.

Over the year, wage and salary employment increased by 43,200 to 2,208,000, with gains in the private education and health services sector (+12,800), the manufacturing sector (+8,500), and the trade, transportation, and utilities sector (+6,900), among others.

"Employers added over 43,000 more jobs in the past year," continued Washington. "This is great news for our economy and we're seeing growth in multiple sectors."

Counties with the lowest unemployment rates are: Shelby County at 2.6%, Morgan and Madison Counties at 2.8%, and Cullman, Elmore, Limestone, Marshall, and St. Clair Counties at 2.9%. Counties with the highest unemployment rates are: Wilcox County at 8.9%, Perry County at 6.9%, and Clarke County at 6.4%.

Major cities with the lowest unemployment rates are: Vestavia Hills at 2.3%, Trussville at 2.4%, and Alabaster, Homewood, and Madison at 2.5%. Major cities with the highest unemployment rates are: Selma at 7.2%, Prichard at 5.9%, and Anniston at 4.8%.

"Seasonal adjustment" refers to BLS's practice of anticipating certain trends in the labor force, such as hiring during the holidays or the surge in the labor force when students graduate in the spring, and removing their effects to the civilian labor force.

The Current Population (CPS), or the household survey, is conducted by the Census Bureau and identifies members of the work force and measures how many people are working or looking for work.

The establishment survey, which is conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a division of the U.S. Department of Labor, surveys employers to measure how many jobs are in the economy. This is also referred to as wage and salary employment.