Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Louisiana’s employment hits all-time high

by BIZ. Staff

BATON ROUGE – Louisiana has hit an all-time high last month in the number of employed individuals.

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) began publishing seasonally adjusted civilian labor force for employed in 1976. As of April 2018, Louisiana recorded its all-time record of seasonally adjusted employed at 2,042,495.

The Shreveport metropolitan statistical area (MSA) gained 400 jobs from March 2018.

“This is incredible news for our state, and it is further proof that Louisiana is moving in the right direction when it comes to job availability and having a workforce that is ready to meet the demands of our growing economy,” said Gov. John Bel Edwards. “This is not only good news for our people but also for businesses across the state. As employment increases it’s clear that momentum is on our side, and we will continue working to meet the needs of job seekers and creators.  We know there is more work to do, which is why the decisions we make over the next two-week special session are critically important to our state’s future.”

From April 2017, the number of seasonally adjusted employed individuals increased by 47,654 to 2,042,495. From March 2018, seasonally adjusted employed individuals increased by 3,498. The number of seasonally adjusted unemployed individuals decreased by 19,136 to 95,725 from April 2017.

Louisiana’s seasonally adjusted civilian labor force, or the number of people who are employed in addition to those looking for work, increased by 28,518 from April 2017. This is the highest recorded civilian labor force since March 2016.

Louisiana’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment has added 19,900 jobs since April 2017. There have now been over-the-year gains for seven straight months. This is also the largest over-the-year gain since March 2015.

From March 2018, seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment increased by 9,200 jobs, bringing the new total to 1,993,100. There have been over-the-month gains for the past five straight months and in six of the last seven months.

“Our state is witnessing positive employment growth across multiple industry sectors, as more job seekers are being matched with available opportunities,” said Ava Dejoie, Executive Director of the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC). “Our objective remains clear and we must continue working to meet the needs of both job seekers and employers in order to fortify the state’s workforce population.”

Louisiana’s seasonally adjusted private sector has gained 22,900 jobs since April 2017. With this figure being the largest over-the-year gain since March 2015, seasonally adjusted private sector employment has also added jobs consecutively for the past seven months.

From March 2018, seasonally adjusted private sector employment added 8,600 jobs, bringing the new total to 1,667,400. Seasonally adjusted total private employment has added jobs over the month in six of the last seven months.

Louisiana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased 0.9 percentage points when compared to Louisiana’s April 2017 figure. At 4.5 percent, this is the lowest the unemployment rate has been for the month of April since 2008.

April metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and parish unemployment rates will be released on May 25, 2018. For additional state and MSA data release dates, please click here.

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