Richland jobless rate steady at 6.4 percent

The unemployment rate for Richland Parish stayed steady at 6.4 percent during November according to statistics released last week by the Louisiana Works Commission.
While showing no change form October, the unemployment rate for the parish is down from 7.0 percent the previous November.
A total of 527 people were looking for work in Richland Parish in November, down from 530 in October and 596 a year ago.
That translates into 7,739 people employed in the parish in November, up from 7,720 in October and down from 7,927 a year ago.
Jackson Parish had the state’s lowest unemployment rate at 5.1 percent while the parish with the highest rate was West Carroll Parish with 11.1 percent.
The unemployment rate in Louisiana dropped to 5.5 percent in November, down from 5.9 percent in October, according to not-seasonally-adjusted data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unemployment rates also fell in all nine of the state’s metropolitan statistical areas and in 59 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes in November. Last month marks the second consecutive month in which rates fell in all MSAs.
“We remain cautiously optimistic with two consecutive months of lower unemployment in all corners of the state,” said Louisiana Workforce Commission Executive Director Ava Dejoie. “We are working diligently to ensure every hard-working Louisianian can find meaningful employment.”
Not-seasonally-adjusted data represent a snapshot of employment but are not adjusted for seasonal factors.
The Louisiana Workforce Commission released seasonally-adjusted data for the state on December 16.
Not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rates for Louisiana’s MSAs in November were as follows:
• Alexandria: 5.9 percent, down from 6.1 percent in October and up from 5.5 percent in November 2015;
• Baton Rouge: 4.7 percent, down from 5.0 percent in October and up from 4.5 percent in November 2015;
• Hammond: 6.1 percent, down from 6.4 percent in October and unchanged from November 2015;
• Houma: 6.0 percent, down from 6.3 percent in October and up from 5.4 percent in November 2015;
• Lafayette: 6.3 percent, down from 6.7 percent in October and up from 6.0 percent in November 2015;
• Lake Charles: 4.5 percent, down from 4.7 percent in October and up from 4.4 percent in November 2015;
• Monroe: 5.7 percent, down from 5.9 percent in October and up from 5.6 percent in November 2015;
• New Orleans: 5.0 percent, down from 5.4 percent in October and down from 5.1 percent in November 2015;
• Shreveport: 6.0 percent, down from 6.4 percent in October and up from 5.9 percent in November 2015.
The Louisiana Workforce Commission has countless tools to connect job-seekers to employers. Services such as in-person assistance, training opportunities, apprenticeship programs and on-site job fairs are available to the general public throughout the LWC’s 59 local offices. The LWC hosted more than 20 events around the state to connect eager, qualified job-seekers with the agency’s valued employer partners.