Jobless rates drop

Tri-Parish unemployment rates in November declined from October rates, but remained mostly unchanged from a year ago.
The number of people working in St. Landry, Evangeline and Acadia parishes dropped nearly 3 percent from November 2015 to the 64,429 people working in November 2016,
The employment rates are from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and released by the Louisiana Workforce Commission.
The November parish unemployment rates are
— St. Landry Parish: 7.1 percent, unchanged from a year ago; and down from 7.8 percent in October.
— Evangeline Parish: 6.6 percent, unchanged from a year ago; and down from 7.1 percent in October.
— Acadia Parish: 6.6 percent, up from 6.3 percent a year ago; and down from 7.1 percent in October.
The number of people working has declined from a year ago in November.
— St. Landry Parish: 30,050 working, down from 30,876 a year ago.
— Evangeline Parish: 11,563 working, down from 11,827 a year ago.
— Acadia Parish: 22,816 working, down from 23,960 a year ago.
The unemployment rate in Louisiana dropped to 5.5 percent in November, down from 5.9 percent in October.
Unemployment rates also fell in all nine of the state’s metropolitan statistical areas and in 59 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes in November. Last month marks the second consecutive month in which rates fell in all MSAs.
Louisiana Workforce Commission Executive Director Ava Dejoie said, “We remain cautiously optimistic with two consecutive months of lower unemployment in all corners of the state. We are working diligently to ensure every hard-working Louisianian can find meaningful employment.”
Not-seasonally-adjusted data represent a snapshot of employment but are not adjusted for seasonal factors. The Louisiana Workforce Commission released seasonally-adjusted data for the state on Dec. 16.
Not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rates for Louisiana’s MSAs in November were as follows:
— Alexandria: 5.9 percent, down from 6.1 percent in October and up from 5.5 percent in November 2015;
— Baton Rouge: 4.7 percent, down from 5 percent in October and up from 4.5 percent in November 2015;
— Hammond: 6.1 percent, down from 6.4 percent in October and unchanged from November 2015;
— Houma: 6 percent, down from 6.3 percent in October and up from 5.4 percent in November 2015;
— Lafayette: 6.3 percent, down from 6.7 percent in October and up from 6 percent in November 2015;
— Lake Charles: 4.5 percent, down from 4.7 percent in October and up from 4.4 percent in November 2015;
— Monroe: 5.7 percent, down from 5.9 percent in October and up from 5.6 percent in November 2015;
— New Orleans: 5 percent, down from 5.4 percent in October and down from 5.1 percent in November 2015;
— Shreveport: 6 percent, down from 6.4 percent in October and up from 5.9 percent in November 2015.