MONTGOMERY – Alabama Department of Workforce Secretary Greg Reed announced today that Alabama’s labor force participation rate for January held steady at 57.6%. The percentage of prime-age workers by three-tenths of a percentage point to 78.9 % over the year. Prime-age workers are those aged 25-54 years.
“We continue to see gains in the participation of prime-age workers in Alabama,” said Reed. “That means that more than three out of four of these workers are in the labor force, and they are working. We will continue our efforts to increase this number overall, by increasing training opportunities and targeting populations that have traditionally been marginalized when it comes to labor force participation.”
Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted January unemployment rate is 3.3%, unchanged from December 2024’s rate. January’s rate is above January 2024’s rate of 2.9%. The rate represents 78,288 unemployed people, compared to 78,478 in December and 66,845 in January 2024.
The number of people counted as employed increased by 23,534 over the year to 2,285,631, a new record high. The civilian labor force also increased to a new record high of 2,363,919, with 34,977 more people joining over the year.
Over the year, wage and salary employment increased by 25,600 to 2,181,400, with gains in the private education and health services sector (+8,000), the government sector (+7,400), and the manufacturing sector (+4,500), among others.
“Regarding our jobs count, employers in Alabama added more than 25,000 jobs over the year,” continued Reed. “This means that employers remain confident in our job market and are continuing to expand their businesses.”
Counties with the lowest unemployment rates are: Shelby County at 2.7%, Elmore, Limestone, Marshall, and St. Clair Counties at 2.8%, and Lee, Madison, and Morgan Counties at 2.9%. Counties with the highest unemployment rates are: Greene County at 9.1%, Wilcox County at 6.9%, and Perry County at 6.6%.
Major cities with the lowest unemployment rates are: Homewood, Trussville, and Vestavia Hills at 2.4%, Pelham at 2.5%, and Hoover and Madison at 2.6%. Major cities with the highest unemployment rates are: Prichard at 7.4%, Selma at 6.4%, and Anniston at 4.8%.
