August 31, 2022 – August saw an outstanding month for jobs in Macon County with over 1,000 people entering into the labor force and over 1,000 people gaining employment. Specifically, Local Labor Force is back up above 48,000 and Employment is back above 45,000. Macon County is now officially back to pre-pandemic employment in our local labor market. The next few months will tell if this will lead into growth territory, but it is the third month in a row that numbers are heading in this direction.
This new growth in employment may explain why the average hourly wage in the Decatur MSA has taken a sharp dip in the last few months. As labor pours back into the job market, it’s likely that the lower skill/wage positions are being filled first, skewing the average lower.
Numbers may bounce back over the next month or so as the higher income positions are filled.
