Alabama Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington announces that Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted June unemployment rate is 6.0 percent, unchanged from May’s revised rate of 6 percent, and below June 2015’s rate of 6.1 percent. 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.”
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.
Counties with the lowest unemployment rates are: Shelby County at 4.8 percent, Elmore County at 5.3 percent, and Cherokee County at 5.4 percent. Counties with the highest unemployment rates are: Wilcox County at 15.1 percent, Perry County at 13.5 percent and Clarke County at 12.5 percent.
Major cities with the lowest unemployment rates are: Vestavia Hills at 3.7 percent, Hoover at 4.5 percent and Homewood at 4.7 percent. Major cities with the highest unemployment rates are: Selma at 12.4 percent, Prichard at 11.7 percent and Bessemer at 9.5 percent.
Members of the media seeking more information should contact Communications Director Tara Hutchison at (334) 242-8616.
“Seasonal adjustment” refers to BLS’s practice of anticipating certain trends in the labor force, such as hiring during the holidays or the surge in the labor force when students graduate in the spring, and removing their effects to the civilian labor force.
The Current Population (CPS), or the household survey, is conducted by the Census Bureau and identifies members of the work force and measures how many people are working or looking for work.
The establishment survey, which is conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a division of the U.S. Department of Labor, surveys employers to measure how many jobs are in the economy. This is also referred to as wage and salary employment.