St. Mary Parish unemployment rate dips below 5%

As Louisiana's April unemployment rate reached the lowest level ever, St. Mary joblessness dipped below 5% even though overall employment was also down.

The Louisiana Workforce Development Commission reported Friday that St. Mary's unemployment rate was 4.7% in April, down from 5.0% in March and from 7.4% in April 2021.

Friday's report says 18,348 people were employed here in April, which was two fewer than in March but 643 more than in April a year ago.

The number of unemployed people -- those who lack jobs and are actively seeking work -- was 896 in April, down 63 from a month earlier. In April 2021, 1,410 St. Mary people were unemployed.

Even with the improving unemployment rate, St. Mary is a different employment landscape than it was before energy prices began a long slide in autumn 2014.

Employment in the parish peaked at more than 27,000 that year before being hit by the oil price slump and the COVID pandemic.

More recently, with a growing national economy, rising energy prices, spending by people affected by Hurricane Ida, and hundreds of millions in federal spending including COVID aid, some St. Mary governments have been seeing higher than expected sales tax receipts.

Elsewhere in the region, Assumption saw a one-month drop in the unemployment rate to 5.0% from 5.4%. St. Martin's unemployment rate fell to 3.5% from 3.7%; Terrebonne's rate dropped to 3.7% from 4.1%; and Lafourche joblessness slipped to 2.8% from 3.2%.

Statewide, the commission reported an April 2022 unemployment rate -- not seasonably adjusted -- of 3.5%, the lowest ever rate in statistics dating to 1976.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 4.1% is among the lowest three monthly rates recorded.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for April 2022 has declined over the year for 14 consecutive months after peaking in April 2020. Louisiana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage points from March 2022 and shows a 2.0 percentage point decline from April of last year. The labor force participation rate, which measures people ages 16-64 working or looking for work, continues to increase and is currently 58.9%, growing 0.3 percentage points from March 2022 and gaining 3.4 percentage points from April 2020.

Louisiana has also gained 200,600 jobs in seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment since April 2020 and has gained over-the-year for 13 consecutive months. The state’s seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment for April 2022 is 1,910,100 jobs, a gain of 3,600 jobs from the revised March 2022 estimate of 1,906,500 jobs. When compared to April 2021, seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment increased by 45,500 jobs.

Major industries that showed the largest gains for seasonally adjusted jobs over the month:

--Leisure and Hospitality gained 2,500 jobs from March 2022.

--Education and Health Services gained 1,800 jobs from March 2022.

--Other Services gained 1,500 jobs from March 2022.

Major industries that showed the largest gains for seasonally adjusted jobs over the year:

-- Leisure and Hospitality gained 16,600 jobs from April 2021.

--Professional and Business Services gained 10,100 jobs from April 2021.

--Construction gained 6,900 jobs from April 2021.