Alabama Sees Good Economic Gains

Not all states are suffering equally with their economic situations. For one, Alabama is seeing good growth. Led by expansions in its fast-growing automotive assembly trade, Alabama added nearly 25,000 jobs last year, a torrid pace that should continue in 2006, state economists said Tuesday at an annual forecasting summit.

Alabama, once distinguished by a poor, uneducated work force, "is on the cusp of magnificence," transforming itself into a state known for high-paying, high-skilled jobs, particularly in auto manufacturing, according to Carl Ferguson, chief economist for the University of Alabama's Center for Business and Economic Research.

"This is the kind of forecast I've been waiting 30 years to give you. Our state economy is vibrant. It is dynamic and it is growing," Ferguson told about 150 state business leaders at the Alabama Economic Outlook Conference in Montgomery.

Read more here.