St. Mary Parish jobless rate steady at 6.4%

St. Mary Parish’s unemployment rate in October held steady at 6.4 percent compared to September, according to a Louisiana Workforce Commission report Tuesday.
The parish’s jobless rate was up from the 6 percent rate in October 2013, according to the not seasonally adjusted unemployment numbers.
However, there were 664 more people working the parish compared to a year ago, the report stated.
The state’s unemployment rate in October, also not seasonally adjusted, was 6 percent, which is 0.3 percent higher than October 2013 and down 0.1 percent from September.
The October national unemployment rate is 5.5 percent, down from 7 percent a year ago.
Louisiana private sector employers added 30,000 jobs over the year, the report stated.
The state’s total nonfarm employment rose to 1,996,800 in October. Total private employment reached 1,659,100, according to the report, which is drawn from a monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of 6,000 employers across industries and the state.
Curt Eysink, Louisiana Workforce Commission executive director, said, “Private employers continue to add jobs in most sectors in Louisiana.”
Eysink added, “They’ve been adding jobs for more than four years and we expect the trend to continue.”
Education and health services added 7,200 jobs over the year, the most of any sector, the report stated. Other sectors with job gains included trade, transportation and utilities with 6,900 jobs, professional and business services with 5,800 jobs, leisure and hospitality with 4,900 jobs, construction with 3,800 jobs and manufacturing with 2,900 jobs.
The government lost 6,300 jobs over the year, the most of any sector, including 4,000 state jobs and 2,000 local government jobs, the report stated.
The state’s civilian labor force grew to 2,187,741 in October, an increase over the year of 83,856. There were 73,807 people employed and the number of unemployed rose by 10,049 over the year.
The size of the labor force and the nonfarm jobs both set records in October, the report said.
In St. Mary Parish, there were 22,556 people employed and 1,541 unemployed in October, the report stated. In October 2013, there were 21,892 people employed and 1,389 unemployed in St. Mary Parish.
Not seasonally adjusted unemployment rates declined or remained the same over the month in Louisiana’s eight metro areas:
Alexandria: 6.3 percent, down from 6.5 percent in September.
Baton Rouge: 5.6 percent, unchanged.
Houma: 4.2 percent, unchanged.
Lafayette: 4.6 percent, unchanged.
Lake Charles: 5.3 percent, down from 5.5 percent.
Monroe: 6.4 percent, down from 6.5 percent.
New Orleans: 6.0 percent, down from 6.2 percent.
Shreveport: 6.5 percent, down from 6.6 percent.
Not seasonally adjusted data are useful for comparing trends in parishes and metropolitan statistical areas, and for comparing them to the state, the report stated. Seasonally adjusted data, on the other hand, are useful for comparisons among states and the nation.