The Feds Had Better Stop Alabama…Before Everyone There Has a Job!

[TheLibertarianNationalist]

Oh no! It’s happened again. Alabama’s unemployment rate continues to plummet.

Ever since Alabama began implementing its immigration enforcement law, H.B. 56, in late September, the state’s unemployment rate has been dropping like a stone. In just the first month the law was in effect, unemployment in Alabama shrank from 9.8 percent of the workforce to 9.3 percent. And now the latest figures are in…and the news couldn’t be worse (for the Obama administration, the illegal alien lobby, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that is): Alabama’s unemployment rate checked in at 8.1 percent in December. That’s more than a 17 percent reduction since September.

No wonder the Department of Justice sued Alabama and its Civil Rights division continues to harass state agencies, even though the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed that all but a few provisions of the law could go into effect. Illegal aliens are responding to the law by leaving, which is not what the Obama administration or the illegal alien lobby want. And lots of jobs being vacated by illegal aliens are being filled by American workers, which is not exactly good news to cheap labor interests which have insisted that only illegal aliens would do those jobs.

Why the next thing you know, other states might get the idea that they too can reduce illegal immigration, tame unemployment, and cut costs by enacting similar policies. People might even start to wonder why the federal government isn’t doing it.


http://immigrationreform.com/2012/01/23/the-feds-had-better-stop-alabama…before-everyone-there-has-a-job/

[Anti Federalist]

Surprised there are not any comments on this.

I like your user name btw.

[squarepusher]

So is unemployment the goal ?

[freeforall]

I had to look up what was in HR56. Here is a quick explanation, plus the full text in case anyone else is wondering.

http://latindispatch.com/2011/06/09/text-of-alabama-immigration-law-hb-56/

[Nastynate]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gfWxh5B1aE

[Southron]

This could definitely have some effect on citizen unemployment. I'm glad Alabama's unemployment is going down.

[specsaregood]

So is unemployment the goal ?

The goal of what? This particular legislation?

[Zippyjuan]

Seems that much of the "gains" were due to people giving up looking for work which takes them out of being counted as unemployed.
http://news.yahoo.com/alabamas-unemployment-rate-drops-8-1-202828664.html

The December statistics showed that the number of people working increased by nearly 4,000 from November, but the number of people looking for a job fell by more than 13,000. Deravi said that shows more people quit looking than found jobs.

"More and more people are giving up. The significant question is, 'What will happen to these guys?'" he said. Based on past experience, the unemployment rate will drop to a point where these people feel encouraged to resume hunting for jobs and the unemployment rate will go up, he said.

[unklejman]

So is this people looking for work unemployment numbers? Or people without a job unemployment numbers? Because as that number has been decreasing, I've seen the number of homeless people around increase. Just saying.


EDIT: Zippyjuan answered my question.

[QuickZ06]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gfWxh5B1aE

LMAO!

[libertybrewcity]

Unfortunately, this law will probably hurt businesses in the long run by forcing them to pay exorbitant labor costs.

[TheLibertarianNationalist]

Seems that much of the "gains" were due to people giving up looking for work which takes them out of being counted as unemployed.
http://news.yahoo.com/alabamas-unemployment-rate-drops-8-1-202828664.html

Also in the same article:


Asked at a news conference whether Alabama's new immigration law is a factor, Bentley said there is no way to tell for sure because unemployment has dropped in states without immigration laws, but the law may be a factor in some counties.

A sponsor of the state's tough new immigration law, Republican Sen. Scott Beason of Gardendale, said it has to be a factor because Alabama's rate has dropped faster than any neighboring state. "There is no reason for Alabama to be that far ahead other than that," he said.

State Industrial Relations Director Tom Surtees, who oversees Alabama's unemployment benefits program, said Friday there are many positive indicators that the state's economy is slowly improving. They include the initial claims for unemployment in December, total benefits paid, and weeks of unemployment claimed being lower than in the last three years.

[Southron]

Unfortunately, this law will probably hurt businesses in the long run by forcing them to pay exorbitant labor costs.

Eh. I doubt most non-illegal manual laborers will command exorbitant wages.

[Zippyjuan]

Also in the same article:

Yep- as it says-

Bentley said there is no way to tell for sure

Michigan had the next best improvement in unemployment, right behind Alabama with no such laws and the biggest jobs gains were in Indiana, adding 18,000 jobs and Kentucky with over 8,000.

http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/employment-working-families/state-unemployment-update.aspx

Unemployment dropped in 37 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico in December 2011, according to figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on January 24, 2012. Ten states saw no change in their unemployment rates, while only three states reported rate increases. Unemployment is down in 46 states, compared to a year ago.

The drops in unemployment were statistically significant in 18 states. Alabama had the largest decrease, with unemployment dropping by 0.6%, while Michigan saw unemployment fall by half a percentage point.

Five states saw statistically significant job growth in December. Indiana added the most jobs, with more than 15,000 new positions. Kentucky added 8,400 positions and Utah gained 6,400 new jobs in December, while employment grew in South Dakota by 4,600 jobs and in North Dakota by 3,800 new positions.


Jobs in Alabama increased by nearly 4,000. Thirty states have an unemployment rate lower than Alabama for December 2011.