labor lawAdivision of labor law center

The Louisiana unemployment rate for December decreased from 4.5 percent to 4.3 percent. That rate is well below the rate one year ago, when unemployment in the Pelican State was at 6.4 percent.

Louisiana’s non-military labor force increased to 1,876,096 workers, according to the most recent figures. That number continues to rise steadily every month as more businesses re-open. Overall, non-farm jobs increased by 4,000 over the month. The leisure and hospitality industry posted the greatest increase for the month, adding 1,700 jobs in the month. The professional and business services sector gained the most jobs in the past year, with an increase of 13,400.

“The December unemployment rate of 4.3 percent and the increase in non-farm jobs reflected a strong economic picture for Louisiana as 2006 ended,” Louisiana Secretary of Labor John Warner Smith said. “The unemployment rate also declined in every metro area of the state in December showing that people are looking for work and finding jobs in Louisiana.”

The unadjusted Louisiana unemployment rates compare parishes and cities, or metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), to the state. The most recent unadjusted unemployment rate for the entire state was 3.8 percent, down from the previous month’s rate of 4.2 percent.

The unemployment rates for the metro areas also showed improvement. In Alexandria, the unemployment rate was 3.4 percent, down from 3.7 percent the previous month. In Baton Rouge, the rate was 3.4 percent down from 3.8 percent the month before.

The New Orleans unemployment rate also showed improvement, although the city continues to have higher unemployment than other regions of the state. The NOLA unemployment rate decreased from 5.0 percent to 4.4 percent in the last month.

Lafayette Parish had the lowest unemployment in the state at just 2.5 percent. The state’s highest unemployment is in East Carroll Parish, with 8.6 percent unemployment.