Editor’s Note: This is an opinion column.
By Paul DeMarco
Inflation, expensive gasoline, a bearish stock market, and product shortages have the American public worried about their financial future.
Yet, despite all of the bad news nationally, Alabama actually has positive economic news to share and celebrate.
The state of Alabama has now recorded the lowest employment rate in its history. At 2.7 percent, this represents a full percentage below the national average and the lowest in the Southeast.
That is not the only good news. Wages have risen by 20 percent since 2019, which is a record high for Alabama as well.
Post-pandemic, all businesses have been struggling to regain what they lost during the past two years when COVID-19 struck the Nation.
Small businesses, in particular, have had to work hard to keep their current employees and create incentives to hire new workers. Alabama employers have been creative in finding solutions to the labor shortages in getting people back to work, but there is still a long road ahead.
While Alabama is an outlier in the good economic news, the inflation is still stifling businesses as consumers look to balance their budgets due to the high cost for food and fuel.
Hopefully, Alabama will continue to enjoy good news that will help deliver financial well-being to its citizens.
Paul DeMarco is a former member of the Alabama House of Representatives and can be found on Twitter @Paul_DeMarco.