Louisiana unemployment rate drops below four percent

The Louisiana Workforce Commission the state’s unemployment rate for July dropped below 4% to 3.9%. Director of Research and Economic Analysis Emily Dipalma says when the unemployment rate is this low, it’s a sign that most people who end up on unemployment do not last long.

“Those people that show up in unemployment are there only for a temporary amount of time as they move from one job to the next,” she explains.

The state added 2,400 jobs from June to July, putting the number of people employed in Louisiana just below two million.

The private education and health services sector added three thousand jobs from June and Dipalma says the construction sector added nine thousand six hundred jobs over the last year, adding, “Construction still remains strong with over-the-year gains, and private education [and] health services also show up with over-the-year gains.”

The New Orleans Metro area added five hundred jobs from June, Lafayette added three hundred jobs, and Shreveport and Monroe each added one hundred jobs over the month. Dipalma says it’s good to see Monroe add jobs because for the year, that metro area has lost one thousand three hundred jobs.

“Monroe has been a slower build in our report, so it’s nice to see it increase there, and honestly, anytime I see an M.S.A. [Metropolitan Statistical Area] with an increase, of course I’m going to be happy,” she says.