5 Weeks Since AL Passed Abortion Ban & Its Economy Is Bursting at the Seams
It was little more than a month ago in May when the Republican-led state of Alabama passed and signed into law what is arguably the nation’s toughest restrictions against abortion, and liberals could not have been more incensed at the pro-life measure.
There were numerous calls for a boycott of the state in retaliation by prominent Democrats and donors, as well as liberal activists in the entertainment and media industries.
Yet, it would appear that the proposed liberal boycott of Alabama was either never actually launched or had no measurable impact, as the state is flourishing economically.
In a media release on Friday from the Alabama Department of Labor, it was revealed that the state actually broke four employment records during the month of May, when the flurry of demands for an economic boycott of the state was in full swing.
As a result of the state’s improving economic situation, there is a record number of Alabama residents both in the labor force and actually employed, which coincide with a record-high number of jobs and a record-low unemployment rate.
“Since day one, my Administration has sought the best ways to make our state business-friendly for small businesses and attractive to world-class industry. It is certainly paying off because, in May, each of Alabama’s 67 counties saw their unemployment rates drop,” Republican Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement.
“Alabama is breaking record after record! I am proud of the footing we are making; however, we will not tire our efforts. It remains our goal to ensure every Alabamian who wants a job can get a job.”
Initial reports and seasonally-adjusted numbers revealed that Alabama’s unemployment rate dropped from 3.8 percent in April to 3.7 percent in May, a tie for the state record and a rather significant drop from the 4.1 percent unemployment rate a year ago in May 2018.
Meanwhile, the number of people in Alabama to be gainfully employed was listed at a record high of 2,150,481, more than 40,000 more employed individuals than in May of 2018.
The record number of people actually employed isn’t particularly far behind the record number of Alabamians counted as a part of the civilian labor force — both those with a job and those actively seeking a job who are over 16 and not in the military or other institution — that was tallied at 2,233,045 in the month of May.
On top of that, Alabama reported the addition of 38,800 new jobs over the past year, 7,100-plus in the month of May alone. The Department of Labor pegged the job growth rate at 1.9 percent, higher than the national job growth rate average of 1.5 percent.
“What great news we have to share this month,” Alabama Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington said in the statement. “We’ve been consistently posting positive economic news, and this month is more of the same.”
“More people are working, employers are hiring, and we’ve once again dropped to a record low unemployment rate. The job market is great in Alabama!” he added.
“Once again, Alabama’s job growth has surpassed the nation’s. Our economy is supporting more jobs than ever before, and Alabama’s employers are continuing to hire. It’s our hashtag, but it’s true: We Have Jobs!”
When Gov. Ivey signed the pro-life bill into law, there were dire threats from the liberal media and Democratic activists of consequential retaliation and economic disaster from boycotts.
But it would appear that the boycotts never fully materialized, or at best were woefully ineffective at placing a burden on the state of Alabama.
Instead, the state is doing as well as it ever has before in terms of its economy with record highs for jobs and workforce participation and record lows for unemployment — pretty much the opposite of what the liberals threatening a boycott had envisioned.
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