In 2020, the poultry industry generated more than $20.28 billion in total economic activity throughout Alabama, producing more than 80,828 total jobs, according to an economic report by the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association. Poultry’s expansive growth introduced more than processing plants to Albertville, it brought broilers, and a considerable influx of Latin American immigrants. In the 1990s, poultry plant managers were struggling with “labor shortages” as poultry jobs were “the jobs that nobody wants."
Consequently, poultry plants started hiring Latin American immigrants, and as a result, Albertville’s regional makeup transformed. In 2010, Albertville was 28.7% Latino, a 112.3 % growth from the year 2000. “Poultry labor in Albertville was originally mostly white, but by 2012 Latin American immigrants constituted most of the workforce”. The trend of increasing Latin American immigration helped Albertville’s growing economic development and most residents of Albertville acknowledge that immigrants helped rejuvenate parts of the city, according to a Sand Mountain Reporter publication that celebrated the city’s growth and change. Today, the diversity of Albertville thrives, and the economic momentum of the city does not look like its slowing down.
Additional Information:
- City of Albertville. (n.d.). Why Albertville?. Retrieved March 25, 2022, from https://www.cityofalbertville.com/254/Why-Albertville
- Conner, D. E. (2008). Poultry Industry in Alabama. Encyclopedia of Alabama.
http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1650