Birmingham Metro Records Decrease in Unemployment Rate Across All Counties

In a positive sign for the local economy, Birmingham Metro in Alabama has marked a noticeable fall in its jobless rate across all counties, as per the latest employment figures. The unemployment rate for May 2024 dropped across every county within the Birmingham/Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The data, released by the Alabama Department of Labor in late June, showed a decrease in the metro area unemployment level from 2.4% in April 2024 to 2.2% in May 2024. Today, this figure stands at a significant 1.8% below the national average jobless rate of 4.0%.

Resilient Labor Market Despite High-Interest Rates

According to Ben Meadows, Ph.D., at UAB Collat School of Business, “The Birmingham-Hoover MSA continues to show resiliency in the labor market in the face of high-interest rates. The latest reported unemployment rate (2.2%) remains lower than any pre-Covid economic period in Birmingham, going back to 1990.”

City and County Unemployment Rate Comparisons for May 2024

The changes in unemployment rates compared to the previous month for various cities within the Birmingham MSA are:

• Alabaster recorded a decrease of 0.1% to 1.8%
• Bessemer saw the rate remain unchanged at 3.4%
• Birmingham experienced a decline of 0.3% to 3.0%
• Homewood reported a 0.1% drop to 1.7%
• Hoover noted a 0.2% decline to 1.8%
• Vestavia saw the rate decrease by 0.1% to 1.7%

Among the counties, the unemployment rates for May 2024 were:

• Blount — 2.1%, down by 0.3%
• Chilton — 2.1%, down by 0.2%
• Jefferson — 2.3%, down by 0.3%
• Shelby — 1.8%, down by 0.2%
• St. Clair — 2.1%, down by 0.2%
• Walker — 2.5%, down by 0.2%

Comparative Performance of Birmingham Metro

May 2024 unemployment numbers also showed a decrease across all of Alabama’s other Metro Statistical Areas (MSAs).

• Huntsville saw jobless rate drop by 0.2% to 2.0%
• Gadsden experienced a decline by 0.3% to 2.7%
• Tuscaloosa found unemployment decrease by 0.1% to 2.4%
• Anniston/Oxford/Jacksonville observed a decline by 0.3% to 2.6%
• Montgomery marked a decrease by 0.2% to 2.4%
• Dothan recorded a dip by 0.3% to 2.4%
• Daphne-Fairhope-Foley noted a substantial decrease of 0.8% to 2.2%
• Mobile experienced a decline of 0.4% to 2.9%

Statewide, Alabama’s unemployment rate stands at 3.0%, a full one percent lower than the national average of 4.0%.

Future Views

While these figures from Alabama Department of Labor and Bureau of Labor Statistics are promising, it’s vital to continue to watch trends closely and provide support where needed to foster continued economic recovery and growth in the region.