BATON ROUGE – The number of people employed in August 2018 was 2,023,966 – the second-highest in series history for the month of August.
For the past eleven months, nonfarm seasonally adjusted employment has added jobs over the year; from August 2017, seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment increased by 15,900 jobs to 1,986,100. From August 2017, seasonally adjusted private-sector employment increased by 18,700 jobs to 1,662,400.
However, among Louisiana’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), seasonally adjusted data the Shreveport MSA showed it lost 400 jobs from August 2017 and 100 jobs from July 2018.
Seasonally adjusted private-sector employment has also added jobs over the year for the past eleven months; from July
2018, seasonally adjusted private-sector employment increased by 200 jobs. Seasonally adjusted private-sector employment has added jobs over the month in seven out of the past nine months.
Industries that showed the largest gains for seasonally adjusted jobs:
• Manufacturing gained 5,400 jobs from August 2017 and 600 jobs from July 2018.
• Other Services gained 2,600 jobs from August 2017 and 1,000 jobs from July 2018. Other Services includes industries
engaged in activities such as equipment and machinery repair and services. The Other Services sector is at an employment record.
• Financial Activities gained 800 jobs from August 2017 and 1,200 jobs from July 2018.
Among other seasonally adjusted sectors in August:
• Professional and Business Services gained 4,000 jobs from August 2017, but lost 200 jobs from July 2018.
• Education and Health Services gained 3,400 jobs from August 2017, but lost 600 jobs from July 2018.
“August marks the end of summer, which, historically, has proven to be a transitional month in terms of the labor force,” said Ava Dejoie, Secretary of the Louisiana Workforce Commission. “LWC will continue its proactive approach to workforce development by hosting job fairs and helping companies train their employees through programs such as our Incumbent Worker Training Program (IWTP). Since the beginning of August, the LWC has approved 54 IWTP applications from Louisiana employers, worth more than $4.81 million, creating 508 new jobs and retaining 8,754 jobs. LWC is committed to the workforce needs of Louisiana’s employers, workers and job seekers.”
From August 2017, the seasonally adjusted civilian labor force, or the number of people who are employed in addition to those who are looking for work increased by 19,616 to 2,130,791. This is the eleventh straight over-the-year gain.
From August 2017, the number of seasonally adjusted employed individuals increased by 15,759 to 2,023,966. This is the fifteenth consecutive over-the-year gain for seasonally adjusted employed individuals.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased 0.1 percentage point since July 2018 to 5.0 percent.
Not Seasonally Adjusted Data
From August 2017, the total of not seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs increased by 16,600 to 1,978,200. This is the eleventh-straight not seasonally adjusted nonfarm over-the-year increase.
From July 2018, the number of not seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs increased by 600. Not seasonally adjusted privatesector employment increased by 19,100 jobs from August 2017 to 1,664,500. This is also the eleventh-straight month not seasonally adjusted private-sector employment has added jobs over the year.
