Poverty rates in Alabama remained higher than much of the nation last year, new federal data shows, though some larger cities and counties saw significant job growth and rising incomes.
This month, the U.S. census bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) released a slew of data updating poverty and other economic statistics for 2023. The numbers showed the national poverty rate declining from 12.6 percent to 12.5 percent, a decrease that was small in size but statistically significant, census officials said at a Wednesday news conference.
Along with the national drop in poverty, “We’re back to our median household income peak, we are back to [pre-COVID] 2019 levels for full-time year-round workers, and our earnings for all workers are higher than [in] 2019,” the bureau’s Liana Fox said.
Alabama, though, was one of eight states with poverty rates above 15 percent. The state’s estimated rate of 15.6 percent was not a significant change from the previous year’s 16.2 percent estimate.
Poverty rates in the Birmingham metro areas, though, did not significantly change. They ranged from 8.9 percent in St. Clair County to 23.5 percent in the city of Birmingham, and rose slightly in Shelby County, to 9 percent.
The city, however, saw its unemployment rate decline significantly, from 6.3 percent to 3.5 percent.
By multiple measures, the Birmingham area has seen dramatic declines in unemployment since the pandemic. In 2021, the ACS estimated the city’s unemployment at 7.1 percent — more than twice the rate in 2023. Last year, Gov. Kay Ivey lauded the metro area’s 2 percent unemployment rate — measured by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
“It wasn’t that long ago that our unemployment numbers were north of 10 (percent),” State Finance Director Bill Poole said separately in 2023. “It’s creating new challenges in the workforce; we all know that, but it is great to have low unemployment.”
Previous reporting by The Huntsville Times also found poverty rates were above the national average in a majority of Alabama’s counties as of 2022. A Times analysis of the new data on poverty, employment and median household income for the Huntsville, Birmingham and Mobile metro areas found that though the picture it paints is familiar, there are bright spots around the state. They include:
- Madison County, where median household incomes rose 7.5 percent, from an estimated $80,123 to $86,192 – among the highest in the state.
- The city and county of Mobile, where poverty rates declined significantly – from 22.9 percent to 15.2 percent and 19.1 to 15.8 percent, respectively.
- Baldwin County, where the poverty rate fell from 13.4 percent to 9.7 percent.
The city and county of Mobile also saw estimated unemployment rates fall significantly, from 5.6 percent to 3 percent and 5.5 percent to 3.1 percent, respectively. Unemployment in the Mobile area, including Baldwin County, has dropped by more than half since 2021, when the coast began to recover from tourism declines related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Beth Gendler, president and CEO of Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism, said the industry has “come back strong,” based on indicators like lodging and retail sales tax revenue that point to increased occupancy. Retail sales tax revenue passed $1 billion in 2021 for the first time ever, she said, and has not declined.
More visitors “means local businesses hiring more staff, which means the drop in unemployment,” she said. “Additionally, finding workers became very competitive in 2021 with restaurants and other businesses offering hiring bonuses.”
The Press-Register in Mobile has reported on plans to address affordable housing shortages through the Gateway Initiative, a 150-acre campus that will provide lodging and childcare for 2,000 seasonal workers.
Median household income in the Huntsville area remained among the highest in the state, continuing a trend more than a decade in the works. In fast-growing Limestone County, the median $81,942 was not significantly different from 2022’s estimate of just over $84,00, while Huntsville city’s estimate was $73,319. All were well above Alabama’s as a whole — $62,212, itself significantly up from 2022’s estimated $59,674.
“Today you really don’t have to be a rocket scientist or engineer to have a good-paying job here in Huntsville,” Mayor Tommy Battle said last week in his state of the city address.
