Alabama has been ranked one of the worst states for jobs. The new report on the Best and Worst States for Jobs released by the financial website WalletHub placed Alabama at No. 42 out of 50 states, factoring in both job market and economic conditions.
The state’s relatively low position suggest potential for improvement in 2024, indicating room for growth in the Yellow Hammer state’s employment landscape.
“Alabama ranked 42 out of the 50 states in our study. Unfortunately, that's not a very good ranking to have, considering a number one would be the best,” said Cassandra Happe, an analyst with WalletHub. “That includes things like commuter friendliness, the state income tax burden for lower income earners and the share of workers living in poverty. [These] were metrics where they scored rather poorly in that study.”
The best state for jobs is Washington. According to WalletHub, this state has a heavy tech industry, in which Happe said is one of the fastest growing fields of employment.
“Technology is always advancing. Even with generative AI taking on some of these menial tasks, there's definitely a need for people to be working on those programs behind the scenes,” Happe explained.
According to a report from the Alabama Department of Labor, a lot of the projected fasted growing industries in Alabama from 2014 to 2024 include tech fields and the medical industry.
Happe suggested the state implement policies that help applicants locate these jobs. She said this would help people find employment, not only in these occupations, but in other professions as well.
“With how aggressive the job market is right now, sometimes that's the hardest thing: finding those employment opportunities and finding them before they're scooped up by other applicants. So really, [consider] supporting the community in having resources to find those jobs and prepare individuals for those jobs,” Happe explained.
As is stands, the percentage of people working in Alabama is low. According to findings from the Alabama Department of Labor in November 2023, the state’s workforce participation number in October 2023 was 57%. That’s lower than the national average of 62.7%.
Also according to the report, The percentage of prime-age workers increased by one-tenth of a percentage point to 78.1% over the month, and the prime-age workers are those aged 25-54 years old.
More on WalletHub’s Best & Worst States for Jobs rankings can be found here.
