The unemployment rate for the state of Alabama has dropped to 7.8 percent, the lowest unemployment level in the state since 2008. With the national average for unemployment sitting at 8.3 percent, Alabama appears to be more economically stable than the United States as a whole.

However, the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations released additional statistics that attribute the fall in unemployment more to a major reduction of workers than to an increase in jobs within the state.

In the past year, while unemployment levels fell by 1.5 percent, the Alabama labor force shrank by 42,000 workers. The reason for this sharp drop in eligible workers mimics a negative national trend involving two different groups of workers that make up significant percentages of the unemployment rate.

The first group is made up of unemployed baby boomers who have decided to retire rather than continuing to pursue new employment. The second group includes discouraged workers who, instead of continuing to search for work in a period of very few jobs, have given up on looking for work entirely. In both of these cases, these previous workers are not included in the unemployment rate, despite having no regular source of income.

Although Gov. Robert Bentley acknowledged the significant drop in unemployment, as well as an increase in employed workers, he also recognized the 160,000 Alabamians who continue to search for work across the state.

“The point is, we are still not where we need to be, and job growth and creation need to remain our top priority,” Bentley said.

During his campaign, Bentley said he will work without pay until Alabama’s unemployment rate falls to 5.2 percent.

Not all of the fall in unemployment has been due to a decrease in eligible workers, one UA professor said.

Sam Addy, an economist at the University of Alabama, indicated that there has been an increase in jobs in several business sectors over the last year. The manufacturing sector grew in the past year, with an increase in 5,000 workers. Jobs in the leisure and hospitality sectors have also grown by 4,000 workers, indicating a boost in tourism and business-related travel.

The Alabama Department of Revenue recently reported an increase in tax receipts over the past year. These increases include a five-percent rise in sales tax receipts, a two-percent increase in individual income tax payments and a 20-percent increase in corporate income tax payments.