La., St. Mary jobless rates down, but so is employment

Louisiana’s unemployment rate reached its lowest point since before the COVID-19 pandemic in February, though the state still had 158,000 fewer nonfarm jobs than during the same month last year, according to the Louisiana Workforce Commission.
The numbers in the LWC report have not been adjusted to reflect seasonal workforce trends.
Louisiana’s February unemployment rate fell by 0.5 percentage points from January to 7.1%, the lowest since the March 2020’s pre-pandemic rate of 5.3%.
St. Mary Parish’s unemployment rate in February was at 8.8%, down from 9.0% in January even though total nonfarm employment was also down. That's a sign that some jobless workers have stopped looking for work or have moved for employment elsewhere.
In February, St. Mary employment stood at 17,105, down from 17,150 in January. But the number of unemployed people was down even more sharply, falling from 1,705 in January to 1,651 in February.
In February 2020, before economic restrictions were imposed to contain COVID-19, St. Mary’s unemployment rate was 5.1%, and 18,802 people were employed.
Assumption Parish’s unemployment rate was 9.2% in February, down from 9.4% the previous month.
St. Martin unemployment was at 7.3% in February. The January jobless rate there was 7.7%.
Statewide, total private employment increased by 10,300 jobs from 1,501,300 to 1,511,600 in February. When compared with February 2020, private sector employment decreased by 143,000 jobs, according to the LWC report.
Industries that showed the largest gains month-to-month were leisure and hospitality, which gained 3,400 jobs, professional and business services (3,200 jobs), construction (1,700 jobs) and trade, transportation and utilities (1,700 jobs).
All nine of the state’s metro areas saw their unemployment rates fall month-to-month.
Not seasonally adjusted February 2021 unemployment rates for Louisiana’s nine metropolitan statistical were:
—Alexandria: 4.7%, down from 5.2% in January, but up from 4.4% in February 2020;
—Baton Rouge: 6.2%, down from 6.7% in January, but up from 3.8% in February 2020;
—Hammond: 8.0%, down from 8.7% in January, but up from 4.6% in February 2020;
—Houma: 6.2%, down from 6.7% in January, but up from 3.9% in February 2020;
—Lafayette: 6.5%, down from 7.0% in January, but up from 4.2% in February 2020;
—Lake Charles: 7.3%, down from 8.1% in January, but up from 3.9% in February 2020;
— Monroe: 6.2%, down from 6.6% in January, but up from 4.9% in February 2020;
—New Orleans: 8.6%, down from 9.1% in January, but up from 3.8% in February 2020;
—Shreveport: 6.8%, down from 7.3% in January, but up from 4.5% in February 2020.