When the pandemic caused business shutdowns and put the brakes on what was an Alabama economy in high gear, the state’s economic development community’s focus went from recruiting jobs to working to save them.

Alabama’s unemployment rate in March 2020 was 2.6%. That shot up to 13.2% in April 2020. In June 2021, it was 3.3%.

“There is no doubt 2020 was a doozy of a year,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey told economic developers at the Economic Development Association of Alabama 2021 Summer Conference. “Folks, we’re well on our way to the red-hot economy Alabama was enjoying prior to the pandemic.”

What we learned about Alabama economic development during the pandemic from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

Many economic development entities in the state focused on helping local businesses apply for and receive pandemic assistance. Most went to online support services and used online meeting tools to stay connected.

But while the tools might have changed, the work of economic developers to recruit, expand and preserve jobs and industry continued throughout the pandemic and has helped the state’s economy recover faster than many expected.

“During the pandemic we learned not to panic, for one thing,” said Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield. “We learned that economic development still is able to be conducted. All of the things that are important to economic development, with the exception of strong socialization, could take place.”

Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield introduces Gov. Kay Ivey at the EDAA summer conference. (Hal Yeager / Governor’s Office)

The result: announcements that totaled $4.8 billion in capital investment and the creation of 9,466 jobs in 2020. Some of those projects – like the SiO2 Materials Science $163 million expansion in Auburn to make vaccine vials and the Eastern Technologies expansion in Ashford to make personal protective equipment – had ties to the pandemic. Most did not.

Canfield said key factors the state offered before the pandemic remained important, among them: the ability to provide detailed data to decision-makers, having good and prepared properties to build on, having an available workforce, and a highly regarded training program that can tailor programs to industry needs.

He said state and local economic developers were still able to assemble and problem-solve – albeit remotely – to help draw companies to the state.

“Basically it was an affirmation for us that what we were doing worked and all we had to do was to keep on doing what we do best,” Canfield said.

Greg Barker, president of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, said it helps that Alabama is home to great companies and great business leaders.

“We learned that companies really are resilient,” Barker said. “They can respond to changing times. When the pandemic started, you worried, ‘Oh, man, are there going to be any jobs created? Is there going to be any new capital investment?’ Especially when you saw unemployment rates going back to double digits. It was really concerning. The answer is, companies are resilient enough to respond to challenging times and adjust.”

Corporations shifted to remote workspaces. Distilleries produced hand sanitizer. Restaurants expanded takeout operations. Small businesses established online presences.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey speaks to economic developers at the EDAA summer conference. (Hal Yeager / Governor’s Office)

Jim Searcy, executive director of the Economic Development Association of Alabama, said though things slowed down, economic development in Alabama never stopped.

“Alabama responded well. We saw a reduction in activity, we saw less project activity, but there was at least a constant flow of activity,” Searcy said. “A lot of the projects that were close to making the announcement or moving forward went on hold, but conversations stayed in place.”

Barker said as companies assessed the impact of the pandemic and looked to the future, they found Alabama was where they wanted to be.

“We started seeing really meaningful project activity and there were literally billions of dollars (invested) and thousands of jobs created in Alabama,” he said. “Now our unemployment is down to a little over 3%. It shows the economic development process that Alabama – Gov. Ivey, the Department of Commerce – has deployed for a long time still works.”

Kenneth Boswell, director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, said local economic developers provided that important link to businesses.

“Economic developers working in their communities, in their counties, telling the good story, being able to market what they know best, they can do it better than the state can any day and all day,” he said.

Like the rest of the world, economic developers had to go virtual to get the job done.

“We were able to incorporate a lot of technology into the process,” Searcy said. “One of the things that we’ve discussed for years was how technology was going to impact economic development. What was abstract and kind of hypothetical all of a sudden we had to put into practice in a matter of two days or two months. I think we weathered the storm very well.”