St. Mary Parish's unemployment rate dipped below 8 percent in September for the first time in 20 months, while the total number of people in the workforce declined slightly. A parish economic official says the data suggests that the area economy is on track to soon begin making a turnaround. “Industry itself is really at the point where we’re going to see some labor increase in the next year in St. Mary Parish,” said Frank Fink, the parish’s economic development director. The parish unemployment rate fell to 7.9 percent in September from an 8.3 percent unemployment rate in August, according ...