Jobless rate down in February

St. Mary Parish’s unemployment rate fell to 5.7 percent in February, down 0.6 percentage points from 6.3 percent in January, according to the latest statistics from the Louisiana Workforce Commission. The drop comes one month after the parish jobless rate increased for the first time since June 2018.

The number of employed residents rose by 133 people, increasing from 18,529 people in January to 18,662 people in February.

The amount of unemployed residents decreased by 114 people, dropping to 1,131 people in February from 1,245 in January. St. Mary’s workforce, the sum of employed residents and those looking for work, rose slightly to 19,793 people from 19,774 people during January.

In January, St. Mary’s unemployment rate rose to 6.3 percent from 5.6 percent in December 2018, breaking a six-month streak of month-to-month declining jobless rates. From June to December, the rate had dropped 2.4 percentage points, according to statistics from the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

Last month, Parish Economic Development Director Frank Fink said industry officials were starting to see minimal improvement in the oilfield economy, and more cars were showing up in the parking lots of oilfield service companies in St. Mary Parish. But Fink anticipated the oil and gas industry could see substantial improvement in 2020.

St. Mary Parish wasn’t unique in seeing a decline in its jobless rate, rise in the number of employed residents and rise in workforce. Seven surrounding parishes had the same results.

A year ago, in February 2018, the jobless rate was 6.5 percent with a workforce of 20,063 residents, 18,749 employed and 1,314 unemployed.

Parish sales and use tax collections have been up and down to start the year. Collections totaled $2.74 million in February, a 10.5 percent decrease from the $3.06 million collected in February 2018. But excluding collections made as a result of financial audits, collections decreased just 1.2 percent.

Audits brought in $99,583 in collections during February, while the same month of 2018 had $389,821 in collections. February hotel sales tax collections brought in $40,014, a 3.6 percent drop from the $38,628 collected in February 2018.

During January, sales tax collections totaled $3.92 million, a 15.7 percent jump from the $3.39 million collection in January 2018. Excluding collections from audits, collections increased 4.9 percent. Audits brought in $373,107 in January compared to $6,592 in the same month of the prior year.

January hotel collections were $36,295, a 2.5 percent increase from the $35,422 collected in January 2018.