Alabama hits historically low unemployment rate, lowest since 2019

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - Alabama is sporting an unemployment rate of 2.9 percent for the month of March.

Limestone County, in particular, is touting an unemployment rate of 1.9 percent, down from 2.6 percent at the same time last year. That was a few months before Michelle Crawford opened Driftwood Dragonfly in downtown Athens.

At first, it was Crawford looking for employees at her apothecary. Now, employees are looking for her.

“The first employee, Aubrey, was someone that was a little more handpicked that came in, we’re really connecting and asked if she would be interested. And that was how it got started,” Crawford said. “Then it seemed to be a pattern now with the others, it’s more asking me if there was an availability. And you know I want people that want to be here.”

Tara Hutchinson with the Alabama Department of Labor says employees who may have dropped out of the workforce due to the pandemic are now finding jobs in an area where jobs have diversified.

“North Alabama and the Huntsville area has a lot more diversified industries in some area of the state you’ve got a lot more high tech industries, a lot more manufacturing, healthcare, things like that, things that had to keep going,” Hutchinson said. “Not to say that other businesses didn’t need to either, but you saw that more in certain industries than others.”

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