The Tri-Parish workforce declined 1 percent — 718 people — from June to June 2017, according to federal Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS)released by the Louisiana Workforce Commission.
There were 70,062 people either working or looking for jobs in St. Landry, Acadia and Evangeline parishes in June, which is down from 70,780 people a year ago in June.
The job statistics release Friday are not seasonally adjusted for factors such as weather and holidays.
The June unemployment rates were also up from a year ago in the parishes.
The state unemployment rate was 6.1 percent in June, up from 5.8 percent in June 2017.
St. Landry Parish’s workforce in June was 32,874, down from 33,110 in June 2017.
Acadia Parish’s June workforce was 24,470, down from 24,750 in June 2017.
Evangeline Parish’s workforce in June was 12,718, down from 12,920 in June 2017.
Unemployment rates for the parishes in June were:
— St. Landry Parish, 7.9 percent, up from 7.8 percent in June 2017 and 6 percent in May.
— Acadia Parish, 6.7 percent, up from 6.5 percent in June 2017 and 5.2 percent in May.
— Evangeline Parish, 7.2 percent, up from 6.8 percent in June 2017 and 5.4 percent in May.
The state report noted Louisiana has recorded its ninth straight over -the-year job increase.
Not seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment for the month increased by 21,200 jobs from June 2017 to 1,995,100, and not seasonally adjusted private sector employment increased by 23,900 jobs to 1,671,300 for that same time period. Not seasonally adjusted total private sector employment has added jobs for the past nine months.
The number of not seasonally adjusted employed individuals increased by 14,024 from June 2017 to 2,024,799. The not seasonally adjusted civilian labor force, or the number of people who are employed in addition to those looking for work increased by 19,944 from June 2017 to 2,155,532. From May 201 8, the not seasonally adjusted civilian labor force increased by 25,073.
Not seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for Louisiana’s nine metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in June are below.
— Alexandria: 6.5 percent, up from 5.1 percent in May, but down from 6.6 percent from June 2017.
— Baton Rouge: 5.4 percent, up from 4.2 percent in May and up from 5.2 percent from June 2017. Despite the not seasonal unemployment rate increase, the Baton Rouge MSA is at a series high for employment based on not seasonally adjusted figures.
— Hammond: 6.8 percent, up from 5 percent in May and up from 6.7 percent from June 2017.
— Houma: 6.1 percent, up from 4.9 percent in May and up from 6.0 percent from June 2017.
— Lafayette: 6.1 percent, up from 4.9 percent in May, but down from 6.2 percent from June 2017.
— Lake Charles: 4.7 percent, up from 3.7 percent in May and up from 4.4 percent from June 2017. Despite the not seasonal unemployment rate increase, the Lake Charles MSA is at a series high for employment based on not seasonally adjusted figures.
— Monroe: 6.3 percent, up from 5.0 percent in May and up from 5.9 percent from June 2017.
— New Orleans: 5.8 percent, up from 4.4 percent in May and up from 5.5 percent from June 2017.
— Shreveport: 6.5 percent, up from 5.1 percent May and up from 6.3 percent from June 2017.
Despite the over-the-month not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increases in the nine MSAs, these rates are in line with historical figures for the month of June, the report stated.
The state’s news release explained:
Seasonal adjustment works to measure and remove the influences of predictable seasonal patterns to reveal how employment and unemployment figures change from month to month. Not seasonally adjusted data retains seasonal employment trends.
Over the course of a year, the labor force size, available jobs and employment rates undergo predictable fluctuations due to seasonal changes in weather, harvests, major holidays, and school schedules. Seasonal adjustment reduces the impact of these changes, making it easier to understand trends. Seasonally adjusted data is best utilized when comparing several months of employment and jobs data, while not seasonally adjusted data is best used to compare over-the-year trends. Seasonally adjusted data are useful for comparisons among states and the nation.
