At Thursday’s Huntsville/ Madison County Chamber annual Alabama Update, a bit of improvisation was required.
Gov. Kay Ivey, who was scheduled to speak, couldn’t attend due to transportation issues. But, stepping into her place on short notice was Bill Poole, finance director for the state of Alabama.
Poole began by giving special recognition to the Huntsville and Tennessee Valley region, which he called a “pacesetter.”
“Governor Ivey is truly excited about Alabama’s future and I think we share that optimism,” he said to the soldout audience. “That excitement is tied to the relentless positive energy that permeates Huntsville and the entire Tennessee Valley. With over $10 billion in investments and 30,000 new jobs over the last dozen years this region is a pace setter for growth in Alabama.
“The governor is confident, I am confident, and you are confident that a future that is even brighter will continue.”
He also spoke about the newly set unemployment rate record.
“If you follow Governor Ivey on Twitter or her other public comments lately then you know that she mentioned that Alabama’s economy is faring extremely well right now and continues to break record after record,” Poole said. “Three weeks ago, we announced that Alabama set another employment milestone. Alabama is now among the top five states with the lowest unemployment at 2.2%.”
“Every time I think about it’s really kind of hard to imagine. It wasn’t that long ago that our unemployment rate was north of 10%. We are below the national average. Every time I think we can’t get lower next month we do. That is really a blessing for the state. It’s great to have low unemployment and it is an incredible achievement for our state.”
According to Poole, Alabama’s metro unemployment rates are among the lowest in the nation.
“I am pleased to make another announcement on the governor’s behalf that all 12 of Alabama’s metropolitan areas ranked among the lowest unemployment rates in the country for April 2023. All 12,” he said. “As Governor Ivey noted in her remarks Huntsville and Decatur metro unemployment dropped from 1.8% to 1.4%, tying for fourth place nationally. The Birmingham-Hoover metro unemployment also fell from 1.8% to 1.6% in April. That gives it the lowest unemployment ranking for a metro area with a population of 1 million or more.
“So the success has rippled across our state. These are historic lows.”
The director then spoke about why Alabama is more attractive for businesses then surrounding states.
“As you know, Alabama has the best workforce, backed by some of the lowest tax rates in the nation,” Poole said. “And so many other advantages that give us the opportunity to recruit business and jobs.
“A major advantage that our state has also enjoyed over our neighbors is a robust and proven package of economic incentives. These carefully crafted incentives have underpinned much of the state’s industrial recruitment success for the last eight years.”
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.
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