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Alabama’s Economy

Alabama’s Economy
Alabama’s modern economy is as diverse as its population. The economic transition from coal mining to steel and iron production has helped Alabama to enter the automotive industry. The state’s wealth of mineral resources has led to success in the chemical industry. Today, Alabama’s major exports include computer equipment, clothing, and transportation equipment.

Alabama is also strong in the fields of aeronautics and space research. It has long been a center for technological advances in military equipment and space exploration. Two major sites for such advances are Maxwell Air Force Base and the Marshall Space Flight Center.

The Alabama State Budget
The Executive Budget Office (EBO) is responsible for preparing the Alabama state budget. The process begins when each state agency or institution submits its budget request in which it estimates how much money it will spend in the next year. The EBO compiles these numbers and writes a budget that balances these expenses with the revenues that are expected to be collected by the government in the form of taxes and fees. When the budget is complete, it is transmitted to the Governor. Many budget hearings are held by the executive branch and the legislative branch in which the budget is discussed and officials can question the heads of state agencies. The Governor’s Executive Budget is usually finalized every January.

Alabama’s Top 5 Employers by Industry in 2000
According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the top five leading employers in Alabama were:

Services 27%
Retail Trade 17%
Government 16%
Manufacturing 15%
Construction 7%

Alabama’s Top 5 Farm Crops in 2002
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Alabama’s top five agricultural exports in 2002 were:

poultry and products -- $210 million
cotton -- $90 million
peanuts and products -- $29 million
feeds and fodders -- $13 million
wheat and products -- $12 million

Alabama’s Top Export Goods
In 2003, Alabama exported $8.3 billion worth of goods all over the world. Most of Alabama’s products are sold to Germany, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Recently, however, increasing amounts of goods are sold to Latin America. In 2003, Alabama’s top exports were vehicles, chemicals, industrial machinery, electrical machinery, and plastics. In June of 2004, Governor Riley met with the Ambassador to the United States of Chile and announced an effort to increase exports to Chile and Brazil. At a press conference, Governor Riley said, “Every dollar of increased trade means new jobs in Alabama.”

Gross State Product and Per Capita Income
Two key indicators of the strength of Alabama’s economy are the gross state product and per capita personal income. The gross state product shows the value of the goods and services produced in Alabama. The U.S. Department of Commerce reports that in 2001 Alabama’s gross state product was over $121 billion. Per capita income shows the average income for each Alabama resident. The Department of Commerce reports that in 2002 Alabama’s per capita personal income was a little over $25,000.

[pickup “Alabama Gross State Product” from pg. AL39, The American Journey, Reconstruction to the Present, Alabama Edition, c. 2005]
[pickup “Per Capita Personal Income in Alabama” from pg. AL39, The American Journey, Reconstruction to the Present, Alabama Edition, c. 2005]

Your Role as a Consumer
You and everyone around you are consumers. Consumers buy a wide variety of things—food, clothing, automobiles, movie tickets, and many more items. Some goods and services are needs. We need things like food and shelter to survive. Other goods and services are wants. These are things that help us live comfortably, but they are not things we need to survive.

As a consumer, you have various rights. Many private groups and organizations provide consumer protection. One of the oldest of these consumer groups is the Better Business Bureau. There are many regional and local Better Business Bureaus in communities around Alabama. They provide information about local businesses and warn consumers about dishonest business practices. They also investigate consumer complaints.