
Neal Embry Starnes Media
Alabama Secretary of State Greg Canfield speaks about the state’s economy during the March 10 Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce Luncheon at Vestavia Country Club.
Alabama Secretary of Commerce Greg Canfield, a Vestavia Hills native and past president of the Vestavia Hills City Council and Chamber of Commerce, spoke about how, over the course of 60 years, the state of Alabama’s economy has gone from failing to booming, at the March 10 Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
Canfield began his address by asking guests to go back to 1960. That year, a recession hit the country, and hit Alabama hard, Canfield said. Thirty-seven of the state’s 67 counties had more than 50 percent of their residents living below the poverty line, and the state as a whole had 42.5 percent of residents living below the poverty line.
A few pivotal steps changed the state’s course, Canfield said, beginning with Alabama reckoning with its “painful” past in regard to race relations.
“It was painful for everyone, but it began to set the stage for positive change in our state,” Canfield said.
NASA also launched Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville in 1960, and six years later, UAB was officially formed.
In the early 1990s, the state received its first automobile manufacturing plant as Mercedes-Benz opened its doors in Vance. Today, the state is the fifth-largest automobile-producing state in the country, and with Mazda and Toyota set to open plants soon, Canfield said it is believed Alabama could jump up to number two in those rankings.
In the past 10 years, Canfield said employment has risen by 27 percent, the state’s 2.7 percent unemployment rate is the lowest in state history and there has been an 8.4 percent rise in median income.
For the past eight years, Canfield said the state has worked on the Accelerate Alabama initiative, focusing on diversifying the state’s economy and improving the economy throughout the state. The initiative focused on bringing, among other industries, aerospace aviation and defense, automotive, and bio and life sciences to the state.
Since 2012, Canfield said roughly $40 billion in new capital investment has been made in the state, creating about 130,000 new and future jobs. The state is also one of the top five states in the nation for aerospace engineers by square feet.
In addition to Mazda and Toyota coming on board, the state will also host an Airbus facility in Mobile, advancing the state’s impact on aviation as well, Canfield said.
The future of the state is knowledge-based jobs, Canfield said, and now, with such a low unemployment rate and a successful economy, the state must work to fill those jobs and fill the “worker pipeline.”
Canfield said Governor Kay Ivey is working to align different state agencies and has also created the Success Plus Initiative, which will train about 500,000 Alabama workers for future jobs. The state is also working to help disadvantaged workers in the state, Canfield said.
The state has also trained 1,100 veterans for jobs and is now recruiting workers with special and specific skills to the state.
Canfield told the crowd the state must now capitalize on its current growth as it prepares for the future.
The next Chamber of Commerce luncheon will be held on April 14, where Auburn University’s Athletic Director Allen Greene will be the featured speaker.