BATON ROUGE – Data released by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) shows that the number of seasonally adjusted employed individuals increased by 36,732 to 2,036,316 from June 2017.
This is the highest level of employment for the month of June in series history. Over that same time period, the number of seasonally adjusted unemployed individuals decreased by 7,610 to 101,377.
Meanwhile, the Shreveport metropolitan statistical area (MSA) lost 400 jobs from May 2018, but gained 200 jobs from June 2017.
The seasonally adjusted civilian labor force, or the number of people who are employed in addition to those looking for work increased by 29,122 from June 2017 to 2,137,693. This is the third highest the seasonally adjusted civilian labor force has been for the month of June.
Louisiana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by 0.5 percentage points to 4.7 percent from June 2017. For the month of June, this is the third lowest unemployment rate in series history. From May 2018, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage point.
From June 2017, seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment increased by 17,200 jobs to 1,989,100. For the past nine months, nonfarm employment has seen over-the-year gains. From June 2017, seasonally adjusted private-sector employment increased by 19,900 jobs to 1,664,500. The seasonally adjusted private-sector has also added jobs over-the-year for the past nine months.
“Louisiana’s economy continues to move in a positive direction, as proven by the consistent over the year improvement these past few months,” said Louisiana Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Dejoie. “We will continue to ensure that every Louisiana resident in search of work, has access to our agency resources and an equal opportunity at a family-sustaining career.”
Industries that showed the largest gains for seasonally adjusted jobs:
• Education & Health Services gained 900 jobs for the month and 4,900 jobs for the year.
• Manufacturing gained 1,100 jobs for the month and 3,700 jobs for the year.
• Construction gained 200 jobs for the month and 3,500 jobs for the year. The Construction employment sector is currently at a series high for employment.
• Other Services, which includes industries engaged in activities such as equipment and machinery repair and services, gained 200 jobs for the month and 1,200 jobs for the year.
Among other seasonally adjusted sectors in June:
• Professional and Business Services lost 1,000 jobs for the month, but is up 4,500 jobs for the year.
• Leisure and Hospitality lost 1,600 jobs for the month, but is up 4,300 jobs for the year.
