Alabama labor market shows metro unemployment declines and wage growth

Alabama's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 3.4% in July, up from 3.2% in June, though it remains below the national average of 4.1%. Despite the state-level increase, all 12 major metro areas in Alabama reported a decrease in unemployment from June to July. Decatur and Huntsville recorded the lowest unemployment rates in the state, while Mobile saw the highest at 4.4%.

Economic data shows that wage and salary employment increased by 20,400 over the past year, reaching a total of 2,209,500. Significant job gains were noted in the leisure and hospitality, private education, health services, and government sectors. Notably, the private education and health services sector reached a record high of 269,000 jobs.

Weekly wages reached record highs in the construction and manufacturing sectors. Alabama's labor force participation rate stood at 56.9% for July, which is lower than the national average of 61.4%.