Chilton unemployment rate falls in May
Published 11:45 am Monday June 24, 2024
Chilton County has one of the lowest employment rates in the state of Alabama, at 2.1%, after figures for the month of May were released. (ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR | CONTRIBUTED)
By Carey Reeder | Redaction boss
The Alabama Department of Labor released its unemployment numbers for the month of May on June 21 and Chilton County’s rate decreased to 2.1%. The rate fell from 2.3% in April, but is higher than the May 2023 rate of 1.8%. These rates represent 433 unemployed in May, 479 in April and 367 in May 2023.
However, while this year’s unemployment rate in May was higher than last May, the number of people employed in Chilton County increased from 19,665 last May to 19,905 in May. The civilian workforce also increased in the county in May despite the higher unemployment rate from 20,032 in May 2023 to 20,338 in May of this year.
Shelby and Morgan counties have the lowest unemployment rates in Alabama at 1.8% and 1.9%, respectively. Chilton County is just outside the next lowest group at 2.0% consisting of Cullman, Elmore, Limestone, Madison and Marshall counties. Wilcox County has the highest unemployment rate in the state at 6.8%, followed by Perry County at 4.5% and Dallas County at 4.4%.
“This job growth is indicative of positive trends in our economy,” said Fitzgerald Washington, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Labor. “As we continue to establish higher and higher job numbers, we are also seeing wage growth in many sectors, with some reaching new all-time highs.”
Alabama’s May labor force participation rate remained stable at 57.5%, and the state continued to set new records in major categories. The number of people counted as employed in Alabama increased by 19,648 over the year to 2,266,164, still a record. The civilian workforce also increased to 2,336,843 with 37,986 more people joining this year, and that is also still a record.
Salaried employment increased by 49,200 people to an all-time high of 2,208,400. Progress was seen in the private education and health sector by 11,500 people, the government sector by 9,200 people and the manufacturing sector by 8,600 people.
“Our growth throughout the year in the number of prime-age workers participating in the labor force continues to be encouraging,” Washington said. “We are also seeing record numbers in our civilian workforce and the number of people who are working. In May, almost 38,000 more people decided to join the labor market than in the same period last year.”
Alabama’s preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 3.0%, which is lower than the April rate of 3.1%, but the May rate is higher than the May 2023 rate of 2.3 %. The unemployment rate represents 70,679 unemployed in May, 72,045 in April and 52,341 in May 2023. The state’s preliminary unemployment rate, not seasonally adjusted, is 2.4%.
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