Alabama State Profile

Alabama borrows additional federal funds to cover unemployment benefits; business leaders expect state economy to shrink in Q4 2009 with weak profits and hiring; growth in manufacturing and military forecast to boost coastal economies.

• State job growth fell 5.0% in August 2009 from a year ago; national job growth fell 4.4%.
• State unemployment averaged 10.4% in August 2009; the national average was 9.7%
• Personal income fell 2.6% to $155 billion in Q2 2009 from a year ago.
• Tax revenue fell 13.5% in Q2 2009 from the previous year.
• Exports fell 28.1% to $5.7 billion in the first seven months of 2009 from a year ago.
• Venture capital investment in AL was $40.6 million in Q2 2009, up from $9 million a year ago.