CENTER FOR BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH / THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
& ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Volume 67, Number 12
December 1998
Good Education for Good Jobs
Educational attainment is one of the most
important influences on economic
well-being. More education tends to
reflect greater socioeconomic success for
individuals and for the state. The good
news is that recent estimates from the
Census Bureau show Alabama’s
educational level improving. In fact, there
is a dramatic improvement in educational
attainment by those groups who have
historically been less educated. The
findings are based on a survey
conducted in 1997 and refer to the
population 25 years old and over.
In 1990 one out of every three Alabama
adults did not have as much as a high
school education. By 1997 that average
had dropped to about one out of five.
Alabama’s overall educational level
remains below the national average, but
is catching up. Significant differences
remain with regard to age and race, but
the percentages of whites and blacks
with a high school education attained a
record level in 1997. Among whites in
the state, 81 percent were high school
graduates or more, different from the 67
percent recorded for blacks. The
black/white educational attainment gap is
narrowing as the proportion of black
students obtaining a high school degree
has increased considerably during the
past decade.
Over the last 20 years high school
completion among young adults has
been higher than earlier periods of
Alabama’s history. During the past
decade the proportion of the young adult
population with a bachelor’s degree has
also increased, although more modestly.
Younger people tend to be better
educated than older Alabamians. The
educational level of the total adult
population will continue to rise for some
time, as younger, more educated, age
Educational Attainment in the South, 1997
(persons aged 25 years old and over)
Percent of the adult population who have:
High School Diploma,
or More
Alabama
77.6
Florida
81.4
Georgia
78.8
Mississippi
77.5
North Carolina
78.4
South Carolina
77.3
Tennessee
76.1
U.S. Average
82.1
Bachelor’s Degree,
or More
19.3
21.7
22.3
20.9
22.6
19.2
17.1
23.9
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, P20-505, Table 13.
groups replace older, less educated
ones.
There are also educational differences
between men and women in the state,
and some of the differences seem
unexpected. Women in Alabama are just
as likely as men to have a college
degree. Nationally, more men than
women have a bachelor’s degree or
more. College-educated people are
fewer in Alabama than average for the
nation. We are narrowing the gap, but
we have a long way to go. Nineteen
percent of Alabama adults have a
bachelor’s degree or more, compared to
24 percent nationwide.
The South has the lowest educational
attainment level of any region of the
country. Of the bottom tier of states by
percent of high school graduates
(Alabama, Mississippi, Rhode Island,
South Carolina, West Virginia, Arkansas,
Tennessee, Louisiana, and Kentucky),
only Rhode Island is not a Southern
state. Educational attainment and
economic well-being are closely linked.
Average earnings increase at each
progressively higher level of education.
This relationship holds true not only for
the entire population, but also across
each subgroup of gender and race.
It is important for Alabama to continue to
increase its educational levels because
education yields returns to the state as
well as to the individual. Research and
development, innovative business
practices, and technology advances are
some of the offerings of a well-educated
population. High employment levels in
well-paying jobs are other advantages.
Product design, market research,
engineering, tooling, transportation, and
advertising: these functions can employ
more people—and at higher wages—
than the factories that produce tangible
goods. Most of these business services
jobs require education beyond high
school. How well Alabamians are
educated will strongly influence both the
state’s long-term prosperity and the
well-being of its labor force.
Annette Jones Watters
Alabama Taxable Retail Sales
Retail sales in each of the first eight months of 1998 were higher than the corresponding months of 1997. For the
entire eight-month period, 1998 registered a total of $24.5 billion. This is up 4.9 percent over the same period in
1997. Declining consumer confidence and the possibility of job layoffs in 1999 point to slower growth in retail
sales for 1999.
1997
August
September
October
November
December
1998
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
($thousands)
3,058,415
2,931,626
2,981,714
2,872,345
3,563,498
2,658,676
2,783,627
3,158,636
3,159,956
3,243,776
3,240,618
3,158,764
3,132,613
Initial Unemployment Benefit Claims
The year 1997 recorded the second lowest initial unemployment benefit claims in Alabama this decade, with a total
of 318,540. Claims for the year 1998 are expected to be slightly higher when all the numbers are in. With an
expected slowdown of the state’s economy in 1999, initial jobless claims are expected to rise.
1997
September
October
November
December
1998
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
2
19,243
20,354
17,611
34,996
63,890
20,567
20,846
21,172
20,091
22,403
41,461
17,163
18,048
Alabama Business and Economic Indicators
Sales Tax Collections
From 1992 to 1996, sales tax collections grew at an average annual rate of 6.6 percent. This growth dropped to
2.7 percent in 1997. However, FY 1998 saw a 4.6 percent increase, about $62 million over FY 1997. Sales tax
collections for FY 1999 are expected to grow by 4.2 percent, but this depends on the 1999 labor and consumer
spending scenarios.
1997
September
October
November
December
1998
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
($millions)
115.255
114.192
113.811
121.367
131.670
98.036
109.334
118.447
118.121
122.331
124.188
117.394
118.168
Source: Alabama Department of Revenue.
Civilian Labor Force
From 1996 to 1997 Alabama’s civilian labor force posted the strongest growth of the decade, increasing by 3.7
percent to an average of 2,174,200 people. The labor force comprises Alabamians 16 years old or older who are
working or looking for work. Unemployment was at 4.0 percent for 1998, and the labor force averaged 2,143,400
for the first eight months of the year. A tight labor market and an expected slower economic growth will constrain
the state’s labor force in 1999.
1997
August
September
October
November
December
1998
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
2,182,200
2,178,100
2,172,700
2,164,600
2,154,100
2,128,400
2,132,100
2,134,400
2,134,300
2,139,500
2,173,200
2,160,400
2,145,100
For more information about these and other Alabama economic indicators, please visit the CBER Internet site at
http://www.cba.ua.edu/~cber
Center for Business and Economic Research
3
CENTER FOR BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH
ALABAMA
ECONOMIC
OUTLOOK 1999
The Alabama Economic Outlook 1999
examines current economic conditions and
trends and their likely effects on the national
and Alabama economies in the coming year.
The Alabama forecast focuses on the short
term outlook for output and employment and
looks at state revenues.
Copies are $15 each. Send check or money
order (made payable to The University of
Alabama) along with name and address to:
Center for Business
and Economic Research
The University of Alabama
Box 870221
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0221
For additional information, call
205/348-6191 or visit our Web site at
http://www.cba.ua.edu/~cber
Alabama Business is a monthly publication of the Center for Business and Economic Research, Culverhouse College of Commerce, The
University of Alabama. Articles reflect the opinions of the authors, but not necessarily those of the staff of the Center, the faculty of the
Culverhouse College of Commerce, or the administrative officials of The University of Alabama.
All correspondence should be addressed to: Editor, Alabama Business, Center for Business and Economic Research, The University of
Alabama, Box 870221, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0221.
The University of Alabama
Center for Business and Economic Research
Box 870221
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0221
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