Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter has created an ad hoc committee to study causes for the state’s low work participation rate.

“Alabama is witnessing record-breaking economic growth and historically low unemployment rates,” Ledbetter said in a press release. “Despite these numbers, in Alabama, there are roughly 140,000 job openings and, at the same time, 48,834 unemployed workers across our state. That means we are lacking nearly 100,000 workers over 16-years-old, which puts our labor force participation rate at a mere 57 percent—one of the lowest rates in the entire country.”

Alabama’s unemployment rate was a record low 2.1% in August, better than the national rate of 3.5%.

But Alabama lagged in the work participation rate, which was 62.6% nationally.

Ledbetter picked Rep. Reed Ingram, R-Pike Road, to chair the committee.

Others on the panel will be Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville; Rep. Donna Givens, R-Robertsdale; Rep. Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville; Rep. James Lomax, R-Huntsville; Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile; Rep. Mike Kirkland, R–Scottsboro; Rep. Bill Lamb, R-Tuscaloosa; Rep. Kelvin Lawrence, D–Hayneville; Rep. Curtis Travis, D-Tuscaloosa; Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile; Rep. Matt Woods, R-Jasper; Rep. Wes Kitchens, R-Guntersville; Rep. Jim Carns, R-Birmingham; Rep. Scott Stadthagen, R-Hartselle.

“Over the coming months, it will be imperative for this group to build on the progress of, and collaborate with, existing entities such as the Lt. Governor’s Commission on 21st Century Workforce, the Alabama Community College System, Alabama higher-education institutions, and essential stakeholders across the private sector,” stated Ledbetter.

Ledbetter identified some issues the committee will examine: Extending adequate childcare to families, the correlation between productivity growth and labor output, ensuring wages and salaries are competitive, addressing workforce housing concerns, and offering improved and more expansive mental health programs and services.

“An insufficiency of resources such as these creates barriers to workforce entry as much as an absence of quality education,” Ledbetter concluded.

The study commission will hold its first meeting Thursday at 10 a.m. in room 617 of the Alabama State House.

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