Alabama
Metropolitan
Areas:
Working Toward
a Strong 2004
The mild and generally jobless recovery in 2003 was not enough to pull
Alabama’s metropolitan areas out of
an employment decline that began in
2001. However, late in the year the
job numbers improved, with a comparison of December 2003 to
December 2002 putting the metro
area loss at about 5,560, a 0.4 percent
decline. This contrasts with the year
over loss of 16,560 jobs that was seen
in September. Losses in Alabama’s
45 nonmetro counties have also
slowed, although the 4,840 decline in
jobs between December 2002 and
December 2003 amounts to a drop
of 1.1 percent. Softening job losses
in the metro areas suggest that as the
recovery continues to incorporate job
growth, overall gains will come more
easily to the state’s metro areas. At
77.6 percent, the share of nonagricultural jobs in the 22 metro area counties in December 2003 was up from
77.1 percent a year ago.
Despite declining employment in 2003, the number
of residents willing and able
to work rose in every metro
area except Florence, which
saw its civilian labor force
shrink by almost 800 workers between December 2002
and December 2003.
Unemployment in seven
metro areas was below the
statewide average of 5.6 percent for the year, with
Tuscaloosa and AuburnOpelika both under 4.0 percent. The four metros—
Decatur, Florence, Gadsden,
and Mobile—that saw
unemployment above the
statewide average are still
trying to rebound from
steep manufacturing losses
over the past several years
in industries including
paper, chemicals, steel, and
textiles and apparel.
Metropolitan Area Nonagricultural
Employment
December 2003
Change from
Employment December 2002
Alabama
1,885,000
Anniston
49,100
Auburn-Opelika 46,600
Birmingham
484,200
Decatur
58,100
Dothan
67,600
Florence
50,500
Gadsden
38,500
Huntsville
180,400
Mobile
225,400
Montgomery
165,200
Tuscaloosa
84,100
Russell County
12,290
Net Jobs in Metropolitan Areas
Net Jobs in Nonmetro Counties
-10,400
-100
-1,100
2,400
600
-1,000
-1,600
-500
-4,900
-1,000
1,700
0
-60
-5,560
-4,840
Source: Alabama Department of Industrial
Relations.
Projects announced and/or under
construction in 2003 should yield a
growing number of jobs during 2004
at Alabama’s new and expanding
automobile manufacturers and suppliers, many of which are located in
the metropolitan areas. Honda,
which draws suppliers and workers
from the metro areas to its Talladega
County plant, will begin building the
Pilot SUV
on its new
production
line in
April.
Mercedes’
second
plant in the
Tuscaloosa
metro area
is nearing
completion
and will
come online
later in 2004
to produce
the new
Grand Sports Tourer. And Montgomery’s Hyundai is readying for a
June 2004 test run in preparation for
production in March 2005. Aerospace and national defense initiatives
will benefit some metro areas as well.
Health care-related developments,
including hospital additions and
growth in biomedical research,
should contribute to job gains. And
the retail sector continues to expand
as the state’s metro areas strengthen
their roles as retail hubs, drawing
shoppers from nearby rural counties.
Preparing workers for these new jobs
is a key focus across the metro areas.
So are projects that will add to the
quality of life of residents, including
downtown revitalization, riverfront
development, increasing entertainment options, and public school construction. Across Alabama, the
metro areas are well-positioned to
reap the benefits of their hard work
and an improving economy in 2004.
Carolyn Trent
Metro Area 2003 Highlights
and riverfront.
Anniston: New and expanding
auto suppliers; Anniston Army
Depot adding workers; continued
McClellan development; Anniston
streetscaping and retail growth; settlement of PCB lawsuit; new recreational facilities in Oxford.
Dothan: Continuing retail growth
strengthens role as shopping hub;
new and expanding manufacturers,
including sign industry; downtown
revitalization and park playgrounds
in Dothan; Daleville convention
center; new industrial park in Ozark.
Auburn-Opelika: Retail growth
underway with Colonial Mall stores
opening and Tiger Town under construction; new and expanding auto
suppliers and other manufacturers;
medical center expansion; new recreational facilities.
Florence: Manufacturing job losses
stemmed with new SCA Tissue plant
raising production and employment
and expansions at existing manufacturers; construction of RSA’s River
Heritage Hotel and Robert Trent
Jones golf course underway; Muscle
Shoals and Tuscumbia growing.
Birmingham: New and expanding
auto suppliers; Pemco and other
manufacturing expansions; strong
suburban population growth with a
number of large-scale residential/
retail/office developments planned;
growing biotechnology; RSA’s Ross
Bridge Golf Resort and Conference
Center under construction; loft and
office development in downtown
Birmingham.
Decatur: Boeing adding workers;
other manufacturers expanding; retail
and housing development in southwest Decatur; business growth in
downtown Decatur and ongoing
planning for entryways, downtown,
Gadsden: Strong job gains in professional and business services; new
and expanding auto suppliers and
other manufacturers; Gadsden
focusing on capital improvement
projects—library expansion,
Noccalula Falls, and riverfront and
convention center development.
Huntsville: Toyota engine plant
online and expanding; new and
expanding auto suppliers and other
manufacturers; NASA Orbital Space
Plane and building construction;
national defense projects with
Boeing, Northrop Grumman and
others; downtown Huntsville and
Some Common Threads
in 2003
• New and expanding auto
manufacturers and suppliers
• Expanding aerospace and
national defense industries
• Growing labor force
• Workforce development
initiatives
• Downtown revitalization and
riverfront development
• Development of recreational
and leisure facilities
World Famous Bridge Street development.
Mobile: Gulf Coast condo building and sales strong; shipbuilding
and aerospace manufacturing
expanding; growing auto industry
interest in container shipping
through Port of Mobile; Carnival’s
Holiday to dock at cruise port to be
built at Mobile Landing; new USA
research park.
Montgomery: Construction
employment up with work on
Hyundai and area supplier plants;
Hyundai employment growing for
June 2004 test run; retail and residential growth in east Montgomery and
suburban Prattville and Wetumpka;
Montgomery downtown revitalization centered on multi-use baseball
stadium and riverfront.
Tuscaloosa: Mercedes expansion to
add 1,600 workers starting in 2004;
five new Mercedes suppliers and
substantial expansions at existing
suppliers; construction employment
strong; workforce development initiatives; site preparation for major retail
development; five new public
schools opened.