Jobs

Preliminary data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) shows that Louisiana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 14.5 percent for April 2020. Louisiana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased by 7.8 percentage points from March 2020’s revised seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 6.7 percent. For a comparison, the United States seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is at 14.7 percent.

(April 2) – New unemployment claims in Louisiana spiked again last week, as many businesses statewide keep their doors closed or limit operations in hopes of slowing the spread of the new coronavirus.
A total of 97,830 new unemployment claims were filed in Louisiana last week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. That’s 25,392 more advance claims in the state than the previous week, when initial claims spiked by more than 70,000. There were 2,225 new claims during the week that ended March 14.

Recently released employment numbers may be the best for the year given COVID-19 layoffs and the downturn in the oil and gas industry.
In releasing the job numbers Friday, the Louisiana Workforce Commission stated the February not seasonal employment data did not reflect any COVID-19 impacts.
The February numbers were historically low, according to the news release from the commission.
Not seasonally adjusted numbers do not take into account factors such as weather and holidays.