Unemployment in Richland Parish fell slightly during May.
The latest figures released by the Louisiana Work Commission shows that the jobless rate for the parish fells from 7.6 percent in April to 7.5 percent in May. The number of people looking for work in the parish remained at 650 both months.
This was down from 8.9 percent a year ago when 776 people were looking for work.
There are currently 7,989 people employed in Richland Parish, up from 7,911 in April and down from 7,988 a year ago.
The unemployment rate for the Monroe Statistical Area rose from 5.9 percent in April to 6.2 percent in May, although it is down from 6.8 percent a year ago.
That reflects a total of 5,073 people looking for work in the Monroe area in May, up from 4,830 in April, but down from 5,639 a year ago.
There are currently 77,143 people employed in the Monroe MSA, up from 77,123 in April and 77,000 a year ago.
Red River Parish had the state’s lowest unemployment rate with 5.7 percent in May. West Carroll Parish had the state’s highest rate at 12.2 percent.
Unemployment rates fell over the past 12 months in seven of Louisiana’s metropolitan statistical areas in May according to not-seasonally-adjusted data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Not-seasonally-adjusted data represent a snapshot of employment, but are not adjusted for seasonal factors. The not-seasonally-adjusted rate for Louisiana in May was 6.1 percent, up from 5.8 percent in April but down from 6.4 percent in May 2015.
The Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) released seasonally-adjusted data for the state on June 17.