Wage & Salary Employment Remains at Nearly Eight Year High
MONTGOMERY – Alabama Department of Labor Secretary
announced today that Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted June unemployment rate is 6.0%, unchanged from May’s revised rate of 6.0%, and below June 2015’s rate of 6.1%. June’s rate represents 130,349 unemployed persons, compared to 132,019 in May and 130,604 in June 2015.
“Our unemployment rate continues to hold steady,” said Washington. “Even though there was no change in the rate over the month, nearly 34,000 more people are working now than last year, and fewer people are unemployed both over the month and over the year, and those numbers are important to most Alabamians.”
Fitzgerald Washington
The number of people counted as employed in June was 2,045,497, up from 2,011,654 in June 2015 (seasonally adjusted).
“Employers in Alabama are also reporting that they are supporting more jobs,” continued Washington. “There are almost 15,000 more jobs this year than there were last year, and we haven’t seen levels of wage and salary employment this high in nearly eight years. Our employers are hiring and putting Alabamians to work.”
Wage and salary employment measured 1,972,400 in June, representing a yearly increase of 14,900. Yearly gains were seen in the professional and business services sector (+4,800), the manufacturing sector (+3,900), and the trade, transportation, and utilities sector (+3,500), among others.
The last time wage and salary employment was at or above 1,972,400 was October 2008, when it measured 1,981,300.
Media Release/Tara Hutchison, Communications Director
Alabama Department of Labor
