MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Governor Robert Bentley (R-AL) announced Friday morning that Alabama’s unemployment rate for May ticked up slightly, after months of slight but steady decreases. A closer look at the numbers show that, in this case, the increase is actually good news for job seekers in Alabama.
Economists have long struggled with the way the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) measures unemployment, arguing it doesn’t always give an accurate picture of the health or strength of the economy or hiring climate.
Because BLS only counts those who are actively looking for a job, it completely leaves out would-be workers who have become “discouraged” and haven’t looked for employment in the last month.
In Alabama last month, the unemployment rate increased slightly from 5.8 percent to 6.1 percent not because more people are unemployed, but because more of those formerly discouraged workers have decided the economy is strong enough to begin looking for full-time work again.
In fact, Alabama added 6,990 jobs in May, a year-over-year increase of 47,488 and adding up to a total of 34,800 Alabamians going back to work thus far in 2015.
“Earlier this year, leading economists at the University of Alabama predicted that our wage and salary employment would grow by 33, 800,” Governor Robert Bentley said Friday morning. ”I am proud to say that only five months into 2015, we’ve added 34,800 jobs, already surpassing job growth predictions. Our effort to create jobs is strong, and we will continue until every Alabamian has an opportunity to find a job.”
Alabama Labor Commissioner Fitzgerald Washington said he actually wasn’t surprised to see the unemployment rate nudge upward at the beginning of the summer.
“It is not surprising to see an increase in the unemployment rate in the summer months due to more people entering the workforce,” Washington explained. “Students and recent graduates tend to enter the job market during these times and begin their job searches.”
The Alabama county with the lowest unemployment rate continues to be Shelby County (4.2 percent). Check out the unemployment rate in your county on the map below.
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