Alabama’s economy is becoming more interconnected globally. This will benefit the state in the long run, but Alabama also is diversifying socially, and we must adapt to population changes as well.
Alabama has been very successful in attracting foreign investment. Government statistics indicate that foreign-owned companies employed about 80,500 Alabamians in 2007, which ranked 25th among all states.
A number of Alabama’s largest and most successful companies are either owned by or subsidiaries of foreign businesses from around the globe — Europe, Asia, Canada and Latin America. Alabama and its people also have benefited from major foreign investments in auto, banking, steel and other industries. The high-paying jobs created by these investments have helped to make Alabama one of the fastest-growing states in personal income during recent years.
Demographic changes also are coming to Alabama but at a slower rate than in other parts of the country. According to the 2000 Census, 89 percent of the U.S. population is native-born, 60 percent of people were born in the state where they now live and 18 percent speak a language other than English at home.
In Alabama, 97 percent of residents were born in the United States, 73 percent were born in this state and only 4 percent speak a language other than English at home.
Since those who move tend to be relatively young, they are more likely to have children in the household, and the public schools experience social change on a bigger scale than we see in the overall population numbers. Ten years ago, students of Hispanic descent made up 1 percent of Alabama’s public school enrollment. Today they make up 4 percent of statewide enrollment, with the largest concentrations in Albertville (33 percent), Russellville (32 percent) and Fort Payne (29 percent); in nine other school systems, they constitute more than 10 percent of students. Just more than 1 percent of Alabama students are of Asian descent, with the highest concentrations in Madison (7.5 percent), Hoover (6.5 percent) and Vestavia Hills (5.1 percent). Making sure that all students succeed is a key to Alabama’s progress in the global economy in which we now compete.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Jim Williams is executive director for the nonprofit, nonpartisan Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama. Jim may be contacted at jwwillia@samford.edu.
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