St. Martin and Lafayette parishes continue to rank among the places with the least unemployment in the state, according to figures released by the Louisiana Department of Labor.
In May, the two parishes comprising the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area had 129,070 workers and 3,715 job-seekers for an unemployment rate of 2.8 percent.
Narrowly besting that rate was the Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux MSA — revved up by offshore oil and gas activity around Port Fouchon — with 2.7 percent.
But the number of employed in Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes was somewhat lower at 99,448.
The highest number of jobs in a given area of the state during May, nearly 500,000, was in the New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner MSA, followed closely by the Baton Rouge MSA with 349,897. The Shreveport -Bossier City MSA posted 173,211 jobs.
While the numbers of jobs were higher in the biggest metropolitan areas, so were the numbers of job-seekers, making unemployment somewhat higher there: New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner 3.3 percent, Baton Rouge 3.6 percent, and Shreveport-Bossier City 4.2 percent.
(The state unemployment rate for the same period was 3.7 percent; 5.2 percent across the nation.)
Those MSAs not only contain the state’s largest cities but also encompass larger geographical areas — seven parishes for New Orleans, nine parishes for Baton Rouge, and three for Shreveport.
In comparisons across the chart, the Lafayette MSA gained over 1,500 jobs from May 2007 — nearly 300 of them in St. Martin Parish.
The state as a whole also gained jobs (14,000) from May 2007 to May 2008.
The picture was even brighter with farm labor factored out of the equation. Seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs in Louisiana grew by 30,800 workers from May 2007 to May 2008, a 1.6 percent increase.
Moreover, Louisiana was the only state in the nation where the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped from April to May this year. Louisiana’s unemployment.
“The nonfarm job gains and the decrease in the unemployment rate show very clearly that Louisiana is maintaining a healthy employment climate,” said Louisiana Labor Secretary Tim Barfield.
“Unlike other states that are struggling with high unemployment, our rate is around a 30-year low. The challenge we are addressing is finding people we can train to fill available jobs.”
In May, the two parishes comprising the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area had 129,070 workers and 3,715 job-seekers for an unemployment rate of 2.8 percent.
Narrowly besting that rate was the Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux MSA — revved up by offshore oil and gas activity around Port Fouchon — with 2.7 percent.
But the number of employed in Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes was somewhat lower at 99,448.
The highest number of jobs in a given area of the state during May, nearly 500,000, was in the New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner MSA, followed closely by the Baton Rouge MSA with 349,897. The Shreveport -Bossier City MSA posted 173,211 jobs.
While the numbers of jobs were higher in the biggest metropolitan areas, so were the numbers of job-seekers, making unemployment somewhat higher there: New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner 3.3 percent, Baton Rouge 3.6 percent, and Shreveport-Bossier City 4.2 percent.
(The state unemployment rate for the same period was 3.7 percent; 5.2 percent across the nation.)
Those MSAs not only contain the state’s largest cities but also encompass larger geographical areas — seven parishes for New Orleans, nine parishes for Baton Rouge, and three for Shreveport.
In comparisons across the chart, the Lafayette MSA gained over 1,500 jobs from May 2007 — nearly 300 of them in St. Martin Parish.
The state as a whole also gained jobs (14,000) from May 2007 to May 2008.
The picture was even brighter with farm labor factored out of the equation. Seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs in Louisiana grew by 30,800 workers from May 2007 to May 2008, a 1.6 percent increase.
Moreover, Louisiana was the only state in the nation where the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped from April to May this year. Louisiana’s unemployment.
“The nonfarm job gains and the decrease in the unemployment rate show very clearly that Louisiana is maintaining a healthy employment climate,” said Louisiana Labor Secretary Tim Barfield.
“Unlike other states that are struggling with high unemployment, our rate is around a 30-year low. The challenge we are addressing is finding people we can train to fill available jobs.”
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