Alabama's Labor Force Participation Rate Increases to 57.8%

April 18, 2025 - MONTGOMERY – Alabama Department of Workforce Secretary Greg Reed announced today that Alabama's labor force participation rate for March increased to 57.8%, up from 57.7% last month and 57.4% in March 2024. The percentage of prime-age workers held steady at 78.8%. Prime-age workers are those aged 25-54 years.

"We continue to show improvement in our labor force participation numbers," said Reed. "We are working continuously to bring in new segments of the population and incorporate them into our workforce. We're adding more jobs, more people, and more opportunity."

Alabama's preliminary, seasonally adjusted March unemployment rate is 3.3%, unchanged from February 2025's rate and above March 2024's rate of 2.9%. The rate represents 78,762 unemployed persons, compared to 77,807 in February and 67,128 in March 2024.

The number of people counted as employed increased by 27,680 over the year to 2,294,254, a new record high. The civilian labor force also increased to 2,373,016, also a new record high, with 39,314 more people joining over the year.

Over the year, wage and salary employment increased by 20,900 to 2,201,600, with gains in the private education and health services sector (+8,200), the government sector (+5,900), and the construction sector (+4,000), among others.

"It's great to see this sustained growth in sectors that had been previously impacted so badly from the pandemic years, such as the leisure and hospitality sector," continued Reed.

Counties with the lowest unemployment rates are: Shelby County at 2.7%, St. Clair and Elmore Counties at 2.8%, and Morgan, Marshall, Limestone, and Autauga Counties at 2.9%. Counties with the highest unemployment rates are: Greene County at 7.7%, Perry County at 7.3%, and Wilcox County at 6.1%.

Major cities with the lowest unemployment rates are: Homewood and Vestavia Hills at 2.5%, Hoover, Pelham, and Trussville at 2.6%, and Alabaster and Madison at 2.7%. Major cities with the highest unemployment rates are: Prichard at 7.0%, Selma at 5.6%, 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.