La. unemployment stays at record low level

Louisiana’s unemployment rate was at a record low in July for the second month in a row, the Louisiana Workforce Commission reported Friday.

The July unemployment news for St. Mary, Assumption and other parishes outside metro areas will have to wait until next week.
Statewide, the seasonally adjusted Louisiana unemployment for July was 3.6%, down 0.2 points from June, according to statistics cited from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and cited by the Workforce Commission.

The state says 2,027,635 people were employed in Louisiana last month, the second-highest figure in the history of the statistical series.

“These historic numbers are signs that Louisiana is moving in the right direction,” said Louisiana Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Cates in a press release.

“The workforce commission is dedicated to our state’s continued success by offering programs and services to all Louisianians so they can meet their career goals.”

Louisiana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 1.9 percentage points lower than in July 2021. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has declined over the year for 17 consecutive months, and has not seen an over-the-month increase since April 2020.

Since June 2022, the number of seasonally adjusted unemployed individuals decreased by 2,995 from 79,778 to 76,783 in July 2022. This breaks the record low set in June 2006 of 77,214. When compared to July 2021, the number of seasonally adjusted unemployed individuals decreased by 36,479.

The July 2022 estimate for employed individuals is 2,027,635, the 2nd largest figure in series history. When compared to July 2021, the number of seasonally adjusted employed individuals increased by 75,915.

The labor force participation rate, which measures people ages 16 to 64 working or looking for work, was 58.9%, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points from June. The July 2022 rate gained 1.0 percentage points from July 2021.

The state’s seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment for July 2022 is 1,922,200 jobs, an increase of 13,700 jobs from the revised June 2022 estimate of 1,908,500 jobs. When compared to July 2021, seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment increased by 36,100 jobs. The series is at its highest employment level since March 2020 and has seen 16 consecutive months with an over-the-year gain.

Louisiana’s seasonally adjusted private sector employment for July 2022 is 1,606,300 jobs, an increase of 9,900 jobs from the June 2022 revised estimate of 1,613,600 jobs. When compared to July 2021, seasonally adjusted private sector employment increased by 40,100 jobs.

Major industries that showed the largest gains for seasonally adjusted jobs over the month:
—Professional and Business Services gained 6,700 jobs from June 2022.
—Government gained 3,800 jobs from June 2022.
— Education and Health Services gained 2,700 jobs from June 2022.
Major industries that showed the largest gains for seasonally adjusted jobs over the year:
—Professional and Business Services gained 15,200 jobs from July 2021.
—Leisure and Hospitality gained 7,800 jobs from July 2021.
—Manufacturing gained 6,800 jobs from July 2021.
Among Louisiana’s MSAs in July 2022, seasonally adjusted data shows:
—Houma (80,500 jobs) added 100 jobs from June 2022, but lost 2,600 jobs from July 2021.
—Lafayette (201,300 jobs) added 300 jobs from June 2022 and gained 4,400 jobs from July 2021.

The St. Mary unemployment rate for July is due to be released next week.

The June jobless rate for St. Mary was 5.8%, up 1.1 points from May despite an increase of 209 jobs over the May figure.

The number of unemployed people rose 229 to 1,141.

Assumption saw a 13-job monthly decrease in June, while the number of unemployed was up 107 to 553. The Assumption unemployment rate rose 1.2 points to 6.3%.

St. Martin, like St. Mary, saw an increase in both employment and unemployment. Employment was up 79 to 21,681 in June from the month before, while unemployment rose 210 to 1,008. The jobless rate was up 0.8 points to 4.4%.