Submitted
The state’s unemployment rate for March decreased to 5.7 percent. March is the 4th consecutive month with a decline in the unemployment rate. The last time the unemployment rate increased was January of 2016.
The civilian labor force which is the number of people working or looking for work, grew by 7,100 from the previous month, according to seasonally adjusted figures. With a new total of 2,114,052, the number of seasonally adjusted employed individuals grew by 8,712 from February. “Since the first quarter of 2017, the LWC has been a part of over 150 hiring events. We will continue to help every person find employment, now that citizens are more confident they can find a job,” said Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) Executive Director Ava Dejoie.
The not seasonally adjusted civilian labor force grew by 20,562, bringing the current total to 2,112,302 for the month of March. Not seasonally adjusted employed individuals also showed a gain of 19,173 for the month, with the current total of 1,997,436.
The BLS estimates the number of jobs in Louisiana using a statewide survey of 6,000 employers across industries. Seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs decreased by 8,500 for the month, bringing the current figure to 1,975,100. “6,700 out of the 8,500 jobs lost were in the construction sector,” said Dejoie. “This loss may be contributable to a completion of some flood recovery construction.”
“The Edwards administration is committed to helping all citizens of Louisiana find employment,” said Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) Executive Director Ava Dejoie.
Industries that showed the largest gains in seasonal adjusted employment;
• Education and health services gained 1,000 jobs for the month. The sector is up 6,800 jobs over the year.
• Professional and business services gained 700 jobs in March and is up 4,100 jobs over the year. This sector includes companies that provide support for oil-related companies.
• Trade, transportation and utilities gained 1,500 jobs for the month but is down 4,400 jobs for the year.
Among other seasonally adjusted sectors in March:
• Leisure and Hospitality gained 500 jobs for the month but is down 2,100 jobs for the year.
• Mining and Logging gained 200 jobs for the month but is down 5,100 jobs for the year. This is the second consecutive month of gains for the sector.
• Construction lost 6,700 jobs for the month but is up 7,400 jobs for the year.
Among Louisiana’s nine metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), Lake Charles was the only area that did not lose jobs for the month according to seasonally-adjusted data. Hammond, which has yet to be included on seasonally-adjusted figures, did show a 300 job gain for the month. Remaining seasonally-adjusted data for March showed:
• Alexandria lost 600 jobs for the month and is down 600 jobs over the year.
• Baton Rouge lost 1,600 jobs for the month but is up 3,100 jobs over the year.
• Houma lost 1,300 jobs for the month and is down 5,200 jobs over the year.
• Lafayette lost 700 jobs over the month and is down 7,000 jobs over the year.
• Lake Charles remained unchanged for the month but is up 4,500 jobs over the year.
• Monroe lost 400 jobs for the month but is up 100 jobs over the year.
• New Orleans lost 2,100 jobs over the month and remained unchanged over the year.
• Shreveport lost 500 jobs over the month and is down 2,800 jobs over the year.
The BLS does not report seasonally-adjusted data for Hammond, due to the fact that it is a recent designated MSA, and has not yet had time to acquire seasonally-adjusted data for the area.
• Hammond gained 300 jobs for the month and is up 1,000 jobs over the year.
MSA and individual parish data for March 2017 will be released on April 28.