Richland jobless rate rises slightly
The jobless rate in Richland Parish rose slightly during June.
The parish unemployment rate was 6.3 percent in May and rose to 6.7 percent in June. Both numbers are down from June a year ago when the unemployment rate was 8.2 percent.
This means 572 people were out of work in June, up from 530 in May and 708 a year ago.
The number of people employed in Richland Parish in June was 8,017, up from 7,897 in May and the 7,977 noted a year ago at this time.
Jackson Parish had the state’s lowest unemployment at 5.2 percent while East Carroll Parish had the highest jobless rate in the state at 12.2 percent.
Data released by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) shows that the total not-seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs increased by 21,600 from June 2016, bringing the new total to 1,990,600. This figure represents the largest over-the-year increase since February 2015. Approximately 2,200 nonfarm jobs were added from the May 2017 figure of 1,988,400, making the first over-the-month gain for June since 2007.
The total number of not-seasonally adjusted private-sector jobs increased by 24,800 to 1,668,900 since June 2016, which is also the largest over-the-year increase since February of 2015. From May 2017, 7,100 jobs were added within the private sector, which is the largest over-the-month increase for June since 2007.
The not-seasonally adjusted civilian labor force, or the number of people who are employed, in addition to those looking for work, increased by 19,156 from May 2017 to 2,123,048.
“We typically see a divergence in the not-seasonally-adjusted and seasonally-adjusted unemployment rates during summer,” said Ava Dejoie, LWC Executive Director. “However, we continue to see consistent job growth with three industry sectors at an all-time high in employment.”
The number of not-seasonally adjusted unemployed individuals increased 8,986 from May 2017, to 124,864. When compared to the June 2016 figure of 149,501, this figure is down 24,637.
The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased 0.4 percentage points to 5.9 percent from May 2017. The 0.4 percentage increase is the lowest increase for the month of June. This figure is down 1.0 percentage points from the June 2016 rate of 6.9 percent.
All nine Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) showed a decrease from their June 2016 unemployment rate. Notseasonally adjusted June unemployment rates, over-the-month job gains and over-the-year nonfarm job change totals for the nine MSAs are as follows:
• Alexandria: 6.5 percent, up from 6.2 percent in May, but down from 7.1 percent from June 2016. The MSA gained 300 jobs since May 2017, but is down 500 from June 2016.
• Baton Rouge: 5.2 percent, up from 4.7 percent in May, but down from 6.0 percent from June 2016. The MSA lost 800 jobs since May 2017, but is up 4,500 from June 2016. The Baton Rouge MSA has had six straight over-the-year increases.
• Hammond: 6.8 percent, up from 6.1 percent in May, but down from 7.8 percent from June 2016. The MSA lost 100 jobs since May 2017, but is up 900 from June 2016. The Hammond MSA has had over-the-year gains for 35 consecutive months.
• Houma: 6.0 percent, unchanged from May, but down from 7.5 percent from June 2016. The MSA gained 300 jobs since May 2017, but is down 2,800 from June 2016.
• Lafayette: 6.3 percent, up from 6.1 percent in May, but down from 8.1 percent from June 2016. The MSA lost 900 jobs
since May 2017 and 1,100 from June 2016.
• Lake Charles: 4.5 percent, up from 4.3 percent in May, but down from 5.4 percent from June 2016. The MSA gained 1,400 jobs since May 2017 and 5,600 from June 2016. The Lake Charles MSA continues its series high for nonfarm employment, and has had over-the-year increases for 72 consecutive months.
• Monroe: 5.8 percent, up from 5.7 percent in May, but down from 6.9 percent from June 2016. The MSA gained 400 jobs since May 2017 and 1,200 from June 2016. The Monroe MSA has had seven straight over-the-year increases.
• New Orleans: 5.5 percent, up from 5.0 percent in May, but down from 6.3 percent from June 2016. The MSA lost 700 jobs since May 2017, but is up 4,100 from June 2016.
• Shreveport: 6.3 percent, up from 6.0 percent in May, but down from 7.3 percent from June 2016. The MSA gained 300 jobs since May 2017, but is down 1,900 from June 2016.