7% Decrease from September 2015
MONTGOMERY – Following the release of all the states’ (and the District of Columbia) unemployment rates by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, Alabama Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington announced today that Alabama’s rate decrease from September 2015 to September 2016 is the fifth highest in the country.
“Last month, we were one of only three states to experience a decline in
Fitzgerald Washington
their rate over the month, and now we have the fifth largest unemployment rate drop in the nation,” said Washington. “Our unemployment rate has been steadily improving since December 2015, with ten consecutive months without an increase. This is great news for Alabama.”
Alabama’s preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in September measured 5.4%, a decrease of .7% from September 2015’s rate of 6.1%.
Massachusetts had the largest over the year drop, at 1.2%, followed by Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee at 1.0%, Maryland at 0.9%, and Nevada and West Virginia at 0.8%.
“We’re hopeful that our unemployment rate will continue to improve throughout the rest of the year,” continued Washington. “With the holiday hiring season coming up, more people will enter the workforce searching for employment.”
Media Release/ Tara Hutchison, Communications Director/Alabama Department of Labor
