Alabama unemployment remains below national average

Alabama’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate rose to 2.8 percent in April, slightly above the March rate.

The monthly Labor Market Information (LMI) report from the state added 2,000 to the seasonally-adjusted unemployed total but it remains below the April 2025 mark of 69,000.

Here is a quick breakdown of some key seasonally-adjusted numbers from the report:

• AL total civilian labor force: 2.3 million
• AL unemployment rate (April 2025): 2.9
• AL unemployment rate (March 2026): 2.7
• AL unemployment rate (April 2026): 2.8
• National unemployment rate (April 2026): 4.0

However, in the non-seasonally adjusted numbers saw a drop in unemployment. So what makes the difference?

Keep reading to learn more about how the Department of Labor reports numbers + see the full LMI newsletter for April 2026.

What does ‘seasonally adjusted’ unemployment mean?

The Department of Labor describes the seasonal adjustment as a “statistical technique that eliminates the influences of weather, holidays, the opening and closing of schools, and other recurring seasonal events from economic time series. This permits easier observation and analysis of cyclical, trend, and other nonseasonal movements in the data.”

Here is how it changes for the April 2026 report:

Both metrics are used by the Department of Labor to track unemployment.

Alabama metros with the lowest unemployment

Each major metro area in the state saw a decline in its unemployment rate with nearly all of them falling below 3%.

Here’s a breakdown of the 12 metros from the LMI report:

• Anniston-Oxford: 2.8%
• Auburn-Opelika: 2.2%
• Birmingham: 2.4%
• Daphne-Fairhope-Foley: 2.2%
• Decatur: 2.1%
• Dothan: 2.5%
• Florence-Muscle Shoals 2.6%
• Gadsden 2.6%
• Huntsville 2.2%
• Mobile 3.3%
• Montgomery 2.6%
• Tuscaloosa: 2.7%