Apr. 17—Morgan County's 1.9% unemployment rate in March was the lowest in its recorded history, and the state's seasonally adjusted 2.9% rate tied its September 2019 historic low, according to data released Friday by the Alabama Department of Labor.
Morgan County's March unemployment rate was down almost 1 percentage point from 2.8% in March 2021. Limestone County was also at 1.9% in March, down from its year-ago rate of 2.6%. At 2.2%, Lawrence County was down from 3.1% in March 2021. The unemployment rates in Limestone and Lawrence counties were identical to historic lows they hit in December.
Ahmad Ijaz, executive director at the University of Alabama's Culverhouse College of Business, said north Alabama is the brightest spot in a state that is booming.
"Your area is growing like crazy. Those new jobs aren't just restaurant-type jobs, they're high-paying jobs," Ijaz said. "The economy's doing great, especially in your area. The whole state is doing great."
Morgan and Limestone counties were tied with Marshall County as having the third lowest unemployment rates in the state. The lowest unemployment rates were in Shelby County (1.7%) and Cullman County (1.8%). The highest March unemployment rates were in Wilcox (8.8%), Lowndes (6.5%) and Perry (6.3%) counties.
Not seasonally adjusted and thus comparable to the county rates, the state's percentage of unemployed who were actively seeking employment in March was 2.5%.
Decatur was at 2.1% unemployment, down from 3.2% in March 2021, and Athens dropped from 2.6% last year to 1.9% in March.
Jeremy Nails, CEO of the Morgan County Economic Development Association, said the low unemployment rates are not without some negative repercussions for local employers.
"The good news is we have low unemployment and there are lots of jobs available," Nails said. "On the other hand, however, our employers are struggling to find workers. They may bring in five people for interviews and three don't show up."
Nails said local and state initiatives are aimed at increasing the number of qualified people in the workforce, with a focus on high school students and veterans.
Local employers are reacting to the labor shortage, Nails said, by raising wages.
Ijaz said that's a national phenomenon.
"Even though the official minimum wage has not gone up, most employers have raised their minimum wage in order to attract more people," he said.
Nails said the strained workforce also makes it difficult to recruit new industry.