The local economy of Alabama and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data.
Unemployment rate
3.4%
August 2026, 2.8% a year ago
Average weekly pay
$1,292
Q1 2026, 2,121,230 jobs
New homes permitted
21,308
Last 12 months to August 2026
Net people moving in
+16,421
2022 to 2023
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for its history.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Alabama, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Alabama is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row.
The unemployment rate in Alabama was 3.4% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 2.8% a year earlier. 2,282,055 people were employed out of a labor force of 2,362,622. Among its counties, Chambers County had the lowest rate (2.8%) and Perry County the highest (7.0%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Alabama was $1,292 in Q1 2026, up 3.6% from a year earlier, across 2,121,230 jobs at 168,681 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 1,731 new homes in Alabama in August 2026 (1,317 single-family and 403 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 14,326, up 19.6% from the same months last year, and 21,308 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Madison County (4,093), Baldwin County (3,355), Jefferson County (2,771) over the last 12 months.
Yes. From 2022 to 2023, 104,560 people moved to Alabama and 88,139 moved away, a net gain of 16,421 (+4.5 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and most people who left went to Georgia, Florida, Tennessee.
The weekly survey does not publish a separate price for Alabama. In its region, Gulf Coast, regular gasoline averaged $3.92 per gallon in the week of September 28, 2026.