Skip to content

Economy

Jefferson County extends closure of night clubs, theaters and other entertainment venues

The Jefferson County Department of Health has extended closures of “high-risk” entertainment venues in the state’s most populous county as those types of businesses can begin opening in the rest of the state. “Even though things have been opening up, it does not mean that things are better in our community in terms of the … Continued
May 22, 2020

Alabama’s unemployment rate jumps to 12.9 percent

Alabama’s unemployment rate has surged almost 10 percentage points over the past two months to nearly 13 percent, the Alabama Department of Labor said Friday, another sign of the economic toll caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington said Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted April unemployment rate is 12.9 percent, which is up from … Continued
May 22, 2020

President Trump approves Alabama disaster declaration

President Donald Trump on Thursday declared that a major disaster exists in the state of Alabama and ordered federal assistance to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms and flooding from February 5 to March 6, 2020. Federal funding is available to state, tribal and eligible local governments … Continued
May 22, 2020

Airbus begins production of A220 aircraft

Airbus announced on Tuesday, that it has officially begun production of A220 aircraft at its Final Assembly Line hangar in Mobile. Paul Gaskell is the President of A220 USA and head of the A220 Program in Mobile. “The team is excited to start working in their new facility and to welcome a new customer,” said … Continued
May 21, 2020

Evonik opens expansion of its biomaterial facility in Birmingham

Wednesday, Evonik announced that it has successfully commissioned an advanced biomaterials facility in Birmingham that will support global demand for the use of its RESOMER-brand bioresorbable polymers with implantable medical devices and parenteral drug products. According to the Alabama Department of Commerce, the Germany-based Evonik’s expansion of the 30,000 square foot facility allows the company … Continued
May 15, 2020

Polls, talk radio push attacks on Ivey, but is she worried?

Since Gov. Kay Ivey made known the existence of the “wish list” of spending items the Legislature proposed for the approximate $1.8 billion in federal relief money, some lawmakers have been up in arms. But the “wish list” wasn’t a hastily drawn-up inventory of hypothetical projects as some have suggested. The Legislative Services Agency formatted … Continued
May 14, 2020

Alabama ranks as 4th most open state despite rise in COVID-19 cases

Gov. Kay Ivey’s decision Friday to reopen more state businesses and relax more of her safer-at-home order starting Monday put Alabama as the fourth most open state in the nation, according to a state and local government lobbying firm’s analysis.  The Alexandria, Virginia-based Multistate Associates lobbying firm on Monday moved Alabama from the 22nd most … Continued
May 11, 2020

Ivey’s response to controversy surrounding “wish list,” CARES Act

Suspicion and controversy surround the recently passed General Fund Budget, which includes around $1.8 billion given to the state to combat the economic ravages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Money appropriated by the U.S. Congress under the CARES Act and signed into law by President Donald Trump was directly sent to the State Treasurer by … Continued
May 9, 2020

State finance director recommended waiting to debate state budgets

Alabama’s finance director said that he recommended to Gov. Kay Ivey and to the Alabama Legislature that they wait to debate the state’s budgets until there was more information about the impact COVID-19 was having on Alabama’s economy and the government’s tax revenues. But lawmakers made the decision to move forward with the budgets. Most … Continued
May 6, 2020