Employment rose in 5 of the 7 largest counties in Alabama from March 2025 to March 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Alabama employment increased 0.7 percent over the year to 2,121,200 in March 2026, as measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. (See table 1.) Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that Baldwin County (+2.9 percent) had the largest over-the-year increase in employment. (See chart 1.)

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest counties in Alabama, March 2026

County	Percent change, March 2026
Baldwin	2.9
Mobile	1.2
Madison	1.0
Jefferson	0.5
Shelby	0.4
Montgomery	-0.3
Tuscaloosa	-0.5

Jefferson County (368,100) had the highest employment level in Alabama in March 2026. Together, the seven largest counties accounted for 55.8 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 376 largest counties comprise 73.5 percent of total covered employment in the United States. (Large counties and county equivalents are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2025.)

Average weekly wage gains in 4 of the 6 large counties in Alabama with published data were below the national average of 3.9 percent. (See chart 2.) Shelby had the largest gain (+5.5 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among the other five large Alabama counties ranged from 4.7 percent to 2.1 percent.

  

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Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among the largest counties in Alabama, first quarter 2026

County	Percent change, first quarter 2026
Shelby	5.5
Jefferson	4.7
Mobile	3.7
Baldwin	3.6
Montgomery	3.2
Tuscaloosa	2.1

Weekly wages in all seven large counties in Alabama were below the national average of $1,654. Average weekly wages ranged from $1,596 in Madison to $1,033 in Baldwin.

Statewide, average weekly wages increased 3.6 percent over the year to $1,292. Alabama ranked 38th in average weekly wages among the 50 states and the District of Columbia and 28th in wage growth.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 60 smaller counties in Alabama, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2025. (See table 2.)  Wage levels in 59 of the 60 smaller counties were below the national average. Washington reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,997) in the state. Geneva reported the lowest average weekly wage ($827).

Among all 67 Alabama counties, 16 reported average weekly wages less than $950, 18 had wages from $950 to $1,024, 12 had wages from $1,025 to $1,099, 8 had wages from $1,100 to $1,174, and 13 had average weekly wages of $1,175 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

QCEW data for all states have been included in this release in table 3.

Nationwide coverage of the largest counties is published in the County Employment and Wages news release. Additional information about quarterly employment and wages data is available in the news release Technical Note and from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages website.

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The County Employment and Wages release for the second quarter 2026 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 2, 2026.