MONTGOMERY – The dramatic decline in Alabama’s unemployment rate shows that the state’s strict immigration law is helping more Alabamians find jobs, House Majority Leader Rep. Micky Hammon (R-Decatur) said today.

Gov. Robert Bentley announced Friday that Alabama’s unemployment rate for October was 9.3 percent, down from 9.8 percent in September. In Marshall County, a known hotbed for illegal immigrant labor, unemployment was at 8.1 percent for October, down from 8.8 percent in September and 10 percent in June, when Alabama’s crackdown on illegal immigration was signed into law.

“We’ve heard anecdotal evidence from all corners of the state about how more Alabama citizens are being hired in jobs formerly held by illegal immigrants, but the statewide and county-specific data released today is probably the best statistical proof we’ve seen to indicate this is happening,” Rep. Hammon said. “There are many factors that come into play for employment numbers. However, take Marshall County, where the illegal immigrant problem has probably been more pronounced than anywhere in the state. When Marshall County’s unemployment rate drops almost a full two percent since the law was signed, it’s difficult to deny the law is having a positive effect on employment.”

Other counties where illegal immigration has been a problem saw precipitous drops in unemployment as well, including Morgan County, where the rate declined a full 1.1 percent from September to October.

Though opponents of Alabama’s immigration law have done all they can to discredit its economic benefits, the numbers tell a different story, Rep. Hammon said.

“Despite how desperately illegal immigrant sympathizers have tried to portray this law as somehow harmful to our state’s economy, the truth is more Alabamians are working today thanks in part to our decision to crackdown on illegal immigration,” he said. “The evidence is clear: this law is helping put more Alabamians back to work, and that’s why such a strong majority of Alabamians support it.”