The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
Unemployment rates have continued to rise across U.S. metropolitan areas, provoking alarm throughout the nation and guiding the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates last month.
As of August, unemployment rates had increased from the previous year in 315 out of 389 U.S. metros areas—including 45 of the 51 largest metros, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
To get a glimpse of regional variations in employment, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in Alabama, using BLS data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in August 2024, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.
The national unemployment rate remains relatively low at 4.1% in September, down slightly from the previous month. Still, it's up substantially from 3.8% during the same month last year and remains higher than it had otherwise been since December 2021. By comparison, unemployment rates surged to 10% in October 2009 during the Great Recession, and a full recovery took years. At the height of the brief COVID-19 recession in April 2020, unemployment hit 14.7%.
The Federal Reserve has shifted its focus from curbing inflation to unemployment, cutting interest rates to alleviate economic strain and spur job growth.
Since last year, unemployment has spiked in half of states—a signal often indicating a looming recession, as Piper Sandler Chief Global Economist Nancy Lazar told Business Insider. These jobless rates, paired with layoffs among major U.S. employers like Google and Tesla, have sparked concern among Americans. Minus a major economic blow, economists continue to forecast that the U.S. is tracking toward an incremental slowdown in growth known as a "soft landing." The Fed plans to continue cutting rates to achieve this.
To get a better idea of your community's current economy, read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in Alabama.
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- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,937 people (195 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,946 people (292 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,410 people (371 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 14,489 people (473 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 15,213 people (498 unemployed)
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- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,858 people (550 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 21,680 people (707 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 84,414 people (2,789 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 108,851 people (3,588 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 332,703 people (11,047 unemployed)
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- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 37,173 people (1,280 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 44,059 people (1,516 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 49,604 people (1,692 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 110,641 people (3,811 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,778 people (346 unemployed)
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- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 22,822 people (790 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 23,833 people (842 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,559 people (162 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,181 people (220 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 15,249 people (554 unemployed)
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- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,116 people (582 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 26,297 people (950 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,247 people (271 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 18,164 people (665 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 24,336 people (902 unemployed)
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- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,997 people (345 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,006 people (378 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 13,031 people (496 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,489 people (253 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 24,461 people (944 unemployed)
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- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 40,027 people (1,572 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 46,564 people (1,824 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 192,564 people (7,516 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,624 people (185 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 14,604 people (589 unemployed)
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- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,963 people (324 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,617 people (317 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,051 people (274 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,488 people (387 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,379 people (204 unemployed)
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- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,913 people (385 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,150 people (211 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,879 people (353 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,593 people (237 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,570 people (192 unemployed)
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- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,963 people (179 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.2%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 13,488 people (841 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,750 people (499 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,084 people (213 unemployed)
- August unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,578 people (230 unemployed)
This story features data reporting and writing by Paxtyn Merten and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.
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