Alabama ends April with 3% unemployment rate; over 84,000 jobs available

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – The Alabama Department of Labor is reporting improvements in the workforce.

April ended with a 3% unemployment rate, which communications director Tara Hutchinson said was “close” to the state’s record.

Over 84,000 Alabama jobs are posted online, and registered nurses remain the position many employers are recruiting for.

Hutchinson said healthcare systems have had a nursing shortage since the pandemic, most of them hiring travel nurses and offering incentives to hire and retain employees.

Retail and manufacturing sectors are also seeking help, so the Department of Labor has been educating Alabamians as young as seventh grade about the available job opportunities.

“We can start them in high school with those types of trainings, either that are done on premise – lot of counties and cities have that ability – or we’re working with the two-year programs or vocational programs in order to bring that to them where they are,” Hutchinson said.

Alabama lawmakers are also proposing the Legislature to incentivize people to return to work with child care tax and employer tax credits.

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