BIRMINGHAM (AP) — Alabama's unemployment rate has dropped to a full percentage point below the national average, dipping to 4 percent in one of the state's biggest monthly declines in years, according to figures released Thursday.

An expert said the numbers both reflect the continued growth of the state's automotive industry and cast doubt on the idea that illegal immigrants are taking valuable jobs from Americans.

The administration released figures showing the state's jobless rate for July dropped 0.4 percent from June to July, one of the largest monthly decreases in nearly two decades. The overall state unemployment rate of 4 percent compared to a national rate of 5 percent last month.

The Alabama Department of Industrial Relations said the difference between the state and national jobless figures was last so large in December 1996, when Alabama's unemployment rate was 4.2 percent and the U.S. rate was 5.4 percent.

Samuel N. Addy, an economics expert at The University of Alabama, said the big gap between the state and national jobless figures showed that Alabama's economy is performing well, in large part because of the continued growth in auto manufacturing, which an industry group said accounted for nearly 90,000 jobs in the state two years ago.

"You keep hearing of all the hiring in Montgomery with Hyundai and all the suppliers," said Addy, associate director of the Center for Business and Economic Research in Tuscaloosa.

And while critics contend illegal immigrants from Mexico and other Latin American countries are taking jobs from Americans, Addy said the jobless numbers don't bear out the claims. He said a lower unemployment rate indicates illegal immigrants are not taking jobs.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimated Alabama's Hispanic population at 98,388 last year, a number demographics experts said is woefully low because many immigrants are in the country illegally, making them difficult to count.

But even as the state's Hispanic population has swelled, the number of unemployed Alabamians has dropped. From June to July, the number of jobless in the state declined by 9,325 to 85,310 people, according to Gov. Bob Riley's administration. By comparison, the state had 118,894 unemployed people in July 2004.

Debbie Herbert, a spokeswoman with the state Department of Industrial Relations, said it was unlikely that many illegal immigrants were included in the unemployment figures.

In a statement, the governor said Alabama's economy "is the best it has been in years."

"Alabama has emerged as one of the strongest state economies in the nation," he said.

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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