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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

Chilton County saw a small increase in its unemployment rate after data from the Alabama Department of Labor was released in December. The county’s unemployment rate increased slightly in November up to 2.8% from 2.7% in October. It is also higher than the 2.2% unemployment rate that the county saw in November 2022. Those numbers represent 588 unemployed persons in Chilton County in November, 568 in October and 455 in November 2023.

The number of employed persons in Chilton County also decreased slightly from October to November going from 20,332 in October to 20,108 in November. November 2023 saw 20,255 employed persons in the county. The civilian labor force was the final data point to slightly decrease from October to November in Chilton County — going from 20,900 in October to 20,696 in November. November 2023 saw 20,710 people counted in the civilian labor force.

Shelby County sits with the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 2.6%, followed by Morgan County right behind at 2.7%. Despite the slightly higher employment rate in November, Chilton County still ranks tied for the third-lowest unemployment rate in Alabama, joined by Cullman, Madison, Marshall and St. Clair Counties. Wilcox County has the highest unemployment rate in the state at 9.3%, followed by Clarke and Greene Counties at 6.6 % and Dallas County at 6.4%.

For the state as a whole, Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 3.1%, up from October’s rate of 2.9%. November’s rate is also higher than November 2023’s rate of 2.8%. Those rates represent 73,278 unemployed persons in November, 69,257 in October and 64,404 in November 2023.

Alabama’s labor force participation rate remained steady at 57.6%. The percentage of prime-age workers, those aged 25-54 years old, decreased by two-tenths of a percentage point to 78.9% from October to November. In 2024, that number has increased by half a percentage point up from 78.4% in 2023.

“Alabama employers continue to add jobs at a record pace. Only a few short years ago, our goal was to break two million wage and salary jobs.  Now, we’re climbing closer and closer to two and a quarter million. This represents remarkable progress,” Marty Redden, Alabama Department of Labor Secretary, said in a press release. “We’re seeing great growth in both employment and wages in Alabama. More people working and more money in their pockets is always welcome news, especially at the holidays.”

The number of people counted as employed in the State of Alabama increased by 17,150 in 2024 to 2,278,876. The civilian labor force also increased by 26,024 to 2,352,154, which is a new record high for the state. The wage and salary employment numbers also increased to a new record high in 2024 with 37,300 people joined to reach 2,232,000. Gains in the private education and health services sector (8,800), the leisure and hospitality sector (6,500) and government sector (6,200) were seen in those numbers as well. Also, the average total private weekly wages increased by $42.38 in 2024 so far, reaching a new record high of $1,065.50.