Alabama ranked #1 for 2023 Regional Workforce Development

Downtown Birmingham
(Jacob Blankenship / Bham Now)

The 2023 Regional Workforce Development Rankings numbers are in, and Alabama was officially ranked #1 for states in the South Central region! Keep reading to learn what these numbers mean for the state.

2023 Regional Workforce Development Rankings

2023 Regional Workforce Development Rankings
(Site Selection)

Each year, international business publication Site Selection—which specializes in reporting on economic development—ranks each state’s workforce development based on the following components:

  • CNBC’s America’s Top States for Business, 2022 Workforce sub-ranking
  • U.S. News’ 2021 Best States for Education ranking
  • ACT National Career Readiness Certificates for 2021
  • Workforce Preparation and Development component of the Council for Community and Economic Research’s State Economic Development Program Expenditures Database
  • Whether or not the state workforce board goes beyond the requirements of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014

Site Selection’s rankings are based on high-level factors that can be applied to all 50 states to gauge the states’ overall employment climate, and do not rank state workforce programs or determine which states have the most or best jobs. However, the rankings do suggest which states have the strongest overall workforce development ecosystems.

The 2023 Regional Workforce Development Rankings are:

  1. Alabama
  2. Arkansas
  3. Louisiana
  4. Mississippi
  5. Texas
  6. Tennessee
  7. Kentucky
  8. Oklahoma

What does this ranking mean for Alabama? For starters, Alabama previously ranked #1 in the 2022 Regional Workforce Development study, up from the #6 spot in 2021. This means the state as a whole has invested in building a strong workforce environment—excellent news for both job-seekers and recruiters.

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Nathan Watson
Nathan Watson

Tennessee native who fell in love with Birmingham during college. Graduated from Birmingham-Southern College in 2019. Passionate about Birmingham and its continued growth.

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