Alabama Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington will present an overview of Alabama’s Department of Labor and its divisions at the 1st Annual Appraisal Institute Fall Forum on October 2nd, 2019, in Birmingham, Ala.
Secretary Washington will be giving an overview of ADOL and its divisions and will focus on the current great news regarding the unemployment rate. He will also present current numbers regarding Alabama’s Job Growth and Average Weekly Earnings of the Construction sector from the state’s Labor Market Information Division.
“Along with this brand-new record low unemployment rate of 3.1%, Alabama continues to break other records as well,” said Washington. “More people are working in Alabama than ever before, a record we’ve broken every single month this year. More than 68,000 Alabamians are working today that weren’t last year, and that’s great news. Fewer people are unemployed in Alabama than ever before, and our workforce is larger than it’s ever been, with consecutive growth for the past eight months.
“Additionally, our jobs count reached a record high for the fourth time this year, gaining more than 37,000 jobs over the year, representing a job growth percentage of 1.8%, which, yet again, surpassed the nation’s job growth – all while Alabamians are also seeing growth in their earnings,” continued Washington.
Secretary Washington has been Secretary of the Alabama Department of Labor since 2014. During his time in his current position, the Department has initiated a statewide marketing campaign, a new job fair initiative that brings available jobs to Alabamians, and has participated in a new alignment of workforce regions that allows for better distribution of state workforce resources. Prior his appointment as the Secretary of the Alabama Department of Labor, Secretary Washington worked for The Buffalo Rock Company for 15 years, serving at the corporate marketing and sales director handling the company’s multicultural marketing initiatives before being promoted to general sales manager in 2002. Secretary Washington resides in Tuscaloosa with his wife, Peggy, and their two children Karla and Fitzgerald.
The 1st Annual Alabama Appraisal Institute Forum will also feature presentations by Ronnie Phillips, principal advisor at RealStar Realty Advisors LLC, and KC Conway, director of research and corporate engagement at the Alabama Center for Real Estate and CCIM chief economist. The forum is open to anyone interested in the topics to attend. It is approved for four hours of continuing education by the Alabama Real Estate Appraisers Board and three hours of continuing education by the Alabama Real Estate Commission. For more information about the forum or to register, visit the event registration page.
