Unemployment rate in Alabama holds steady
ALABAMA (WCBI) – Alabama’s unemployment rate holds steady, but more people are working.
The Alabama Department of Workforce reports a 3.3% unemployment rate in May. That is the same as April’s figures.
The labor participation rate is 58%. The number of people counted as working is 2.3 million, which is a record high.
Locally, Lamar County’s unemployment rate is 3.1%.
Pickens County is sitting at 3.7%. Alabama Department of Workforce Secretary Greg Reed announced today that Alabama’s labor force participation rate for May held steady at 58.0%. The rate increased by six-tenths of a percentage point from May 2024. The percentage of prime-age workers decreased by a tenth of a percentage point to 78.7 % over the month. Prime-age workers are those aged 25-54 years.
“I continue to be pleased with the increases in our labor force participation rate. The last time Alabama saw a rate of 58.0% was more than 12 years ago in 2013,”
Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted May unemployment rate is 3.3%, unchanged from April 2025’s rate and above May 2024’s rate of 2.9%. The rate represents 78,246 unemployed persons, compared to 78,756 in April and 67,878 in May 2024.
The number of people counted as employed increased by 34,312 over the year to 2,306,355, a new record high. The civilian labor force also increased to 2,384,601, also a new record high, with 44,680 more people joining over the year.
Over the year, wage and salary employment increased by 23,100 to 2,217,600, a new record high, with gains in the private education and health services sector (+6,700), the leisure and hospitality sector (+6,300), and the government sector (+5,000), among others.
