Earlier this month, the Alabama Department of Labor announced unemployment for the month of May had dropped to 3.4%, a post-pandemic rate at lows, and that low number was accompanied by record-high wages.

However, one of the headwinds facing the Alabama economy is a labor shortage, especially in the leisure and hospitality sectors, as employers face difficulties competing with unemployment benefits.

Thursday, during an appearance on FM Talk 106.5’s “The Jeff Poor Show,” Alabama Secretary of Labor Fitzgerald Washington spoke positively about the direction of the economy and, more specifically, the job market. However, he also acknowledged the struggles to fill open positions.

“There are a lot of jobs out there,” he said. “We hear from a lot of employers about open positions. So, as an administration, we’ve been doing a really good job of raising awareness of all those different jobs that are available. People are actually going back to work, and our economy is turning in the right direction.”

Washington encouraged employers to ask employees to return to work.

“Leisure and hospitality — that’s been the sector that’s really been struggling to try to fill some of those open jobs based on the reasons that I’ve already mentioned,” Washington explained. “If you have employers who traditionally have paid lower wages, and again when we had the unemployment compensation programs in place, along with the federal benefits — the concern from employers was they were making more money from the unemployment than if they were on the day-to-day job. We are encouraged, and we feel good that there are jobs out there. Employers should be asking these employees to come back. They’re doing so, and we’re seeing that reflected in our job numbers.”

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.