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Over the past year, The University of Alabama conducted a study called Chambers County Strong (CCS). CCS is a research project to find and mitigate factors that result in individuals not entering the labor market.

In September 2023, Alabama had an unemployment rate of 2.2 percent and a labor participation rate (LPR) of 57.1 percent. According to a press release from The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse School of Business, you would need to add 23,000 more individuals to the workforce statewide.

According to the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, only 49.5 percent of the 2022 high school graduates enrolled in a 2- or 4-year institution.

The researchers at the Culverhouse College of Business’ Center for Business and Economic Research began studying the factors that result in individuals not entering the workforce after high school and addressing obstacles that could be hindering the state’s LPR from increasing.

Over the last few years the CCS project has initiated several programs to work toward this goal. A poverty simulation was conducted at Lanett High School, where students were tasked with “living” a month in a designated socioeconomic bracket. The goal was to help students understand the struggle of poverty and encourage them to pursue higher education or apprenticeship.

The CSS has also hosted a college fair day and workplace etiquette workshops to help students learn more about what to expect after high school.

By addressing the gaps that occur at the beginning of the talent pipeline and providing a safety net of local and state resources, the end goal of the project is to increase the labor force participation rate in Chambers County.

To learn more, visit the University of Alabama website or Chambers County Development Authority Facebook page.