Richland Parish jobless rate rises slightly

Unemployment in Richland Parish rose slightly during November according to figures released by the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

The jobless rate in Richland Parish rose from 4.7 percent in October to 5 percent in November. It was, however, down from 6.2 percent a year ago.

This means 419 people were looking for work in November, up from 390 in October, but down from 512 a year ago.

There were 7,894 people employed in Richland Parish in November, up from 7,894 in October but up from 7,740 a year ago.

Jefferson Davis Parish had the state’s lowest unemployment rate at4.2 percent. East Carroll Parish had the state’s highest employment rate at 9.2 percent.

Louisiana’s not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November dropped to 4.2 percent.

Compared to the same time last year, Louisiana’s not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 1.2 percent lower. April 2008 was the last time the not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was lower than this.

Not seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment increased by 4,900 jobs to 1,997,200 for November. From the same time last year, 14,800 jobs were added.

Not seasonally adjusted private-sector employment increased to 1,671,400 from October 2017’s figure of 1,668,200. From November 2016, 19,200 private-sector jobs have been added. Monthly data that is not seasonally adjusted does not minimize the changes in any time series which result from normal annual occurrences such as Christmas, summer vacations and weather patterns.

The not seasonally adjusted civilian labor force increased by 10,405 to 2,109,462. This figure represents the number of people who are employed, in addition to those looking for work. July 2017 was the last time the not-seasonally adjusted civilian labor force was higher.

“We’ve observed measurable improvement in the state’s employment outlook over the year, including declines in the unemployment rates across all metro areas compared to 2016,” said Ava Dejoie, Executive Director of the Louisiana Workforce Commission. “These figures reflect the persistence of Louisiana’s job seekers in pursuing gainful employment, and we hope to further restore confidence in our labor force in the coming year.”

The number of not-seasonally adjusted employed individuals increased by 10,989 to 2,020,389 from October 2017. This is the highest not-seasonally adjusted employment has been in 24 months. Unemployment rates declined in all LA metro areas over-the-year for the third consecutive month. Not-seasonally adjusted November unemployment rates for the nine metropolitan statistical areas are as follows:

• Alexandria: 4.6 percent, unchanged October, but down from 5.7 percent in November 2016.

• Baton Rouge: 3.7 percent, unchanged from October, but down from 4.7 percent in November 2016.

• Hammond: 4.6 percent, up from 4.5 percent in October and down from 5.9 percent in November 2016.

• Houma: 4.4 percent, unchanged from October and down from 6.1 percent in November 2016.

• Lafayette: 4.5 percent, down from 4.6 percent in October and down from 6.3 percent in November 2016.

• Lake Charles: 3.4 percent, up from 3.3 percent in October and down from 4.2 percent in November 2016.

• Monroe: 4.3 percent, down from 4.4 percent in October and down from 5.6 percent in November 2016.

• New Orleans: 4.0 percent, down from 4.1 percent in October and down from 4.9 percent in November 2016.

• Shreveport: 4.6 percent, down from 4.7 percent in October and down from 5.9 percent in November 2016.

Richland Today

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