St. Mary unemployment rate dips below 4%

St. Mary Parish’s unemployment fell below 4% in October, while the statewide jobless rate continued to set records.

The St. Mary unemployment rate was 3.9% in October, down from 4.3% in September and 5.2% in October 2021, according to figures from the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

The number of unemployed people in the parish, which exceeded 1,000 in October 2021, was at 723 in October 2022.

But the number of employed people declined, too. The commission said 18,168 St. Mary people had jobs in October 2021, compared to 17,876 in October 2022.

When a long slide in oil prices began in fall 2014, more than 27,000 were employed in St. Mary, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment dropped to near 18,000 and has stayed at that level.

Elsewhere in this region:

--Assumption Parish’s jobless rate was 4.1% in October, down from 4.9% in September and 5.7% a year ago.

--Unemployment in St. Martin was at 3.0% in October, down from 3.5% in September and 3.7% in October 2021.

St. Martin is part of the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area, where joblessness was at 2.8% in October. The Houma MSA’s rate was 2.9% in October.

All nine Louisiana MSA’s reported a drop in the unemployment rate month to month.

The statewide jobless rate was 3.1%, down from 3.5% in September and 4.3% in October 2021.

October was the 20th straight month in which the unemployment rate fell from the same month in the previous year.

Louisiana added 7,107 jobs month over month, raising the total employment figure to 2,025,972, the eighth highest on record.

The industries that have gained the most jobs:

--Education and Health Services gained 4,400 jobs from September 2022.

--Professional and Business Services gained 3,000 jobs from September 2022.

--Government gained 2,000 jobs from September 2022.

The industries that have gained the most jobs year over year:

--Leisure and Hospitality gained 20,000 jobs from October 2021.

--Education and Health Services gained 16,100 jobs from October 2021.

--Professional and Business Services gained 11,200 jobs from October 2021.

The numbers released by the state are not seasonally adjusted.

The figures were released as economy-watchers were awaiting the national employment figure for November, which was due to be released Friday.

The forecasts were mainly gloomy after October’s unexpectedly strong gain of more than 200,000 jobs.