Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin tonight marked the end of a year when he said the Magic City saw the largest amount of capital investment in the city’s history.

At the same time, Woodfin told the Birmingham Business Alliance, during its annual chairman’s meeting at the Alys Stephens Center, that the city still needs a “sense of urgency” to combat the economic problems it still faces.

Woodfin, speaking to a crowd of more than 200 of Birmingham’s business community, said that 2018 saw strong economic progress compared to a year ago. At the beginning his “sophomore” year on the job, Woodfin said, Birmingham saw 2,100 residents employed, with 1,516 jobs created in 2018. At the same time, Birmingham saw announcements of about $278 million in capital investment over the last year, the largest total on record for the city.

The number of job announcements was the largest since 2012, he said.

However, Woodfin said, business and government should work together to “to ensure that real economic growth leads to prosperity for all our residents.”

“Thirty percent of Birmingham’s citizens still live in poverty,” he said. “Forty-two percent are families with children. The unemployment rate for African-Americans is nearly twice as high as for white residents. Four in 10 adults have stopped looking for work altogether, leaving us with a comparatively low workforce participation rate.”

Woodfin said Birmingham will continue to work in attracting business, as well as cultivating a reputation as a destination for female and minority-owned businesses. He pointed to Birmingham tech startup Mixtroz, which has reached $1 million in funding and captured a $100,000 investment from Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund tour.

“The bottom line is that we are making progress but we are not getting where we need to be,” Woodfin said. "We need your help to make the best version of Birmingham we can be.