For the month of May, the jobless rate for Alabama fell to 4.9 percent, its lowest total since March 2008.  This drop in unemployment is also accompanied by an increase in the workforce. Governor Kay Ivey, who has been on the job for a little over a month, was enthusiastic about the news of the lowering unemployment rate.

“The numbers we celebrate today indicate what happens when people work together,” said Ivey.  “We work hard together and we work strategically to declare that Alabama is open for business.”

The workforce in Alabama has grown by over 30,000 in the past year and the unemployment rate has fallen almost a full percentage point from the May 2016 statistics, when it was 5.8 percent. However, Alabama still remains over the national unemployment average of 4.4 percent.

Wage information is not yet released, but the wage of May 2016 was over two dollars less than the 2016 national average of $17.81.  

Shelby County had the lowest unemployment in the state with 3.1 percent. Wilcox County had the highest unemployment rate in Alabama with 10.1 percent.

The wage and salary employment numbers are the 4th-highest since measurements began, with the other three times all coming in 2007.