St. Mary jobless rate jumps to 8.4 percent

St. Mary Parish lost 827 jobs in the year ending in January, based on new statistics from the Louisiana Workforce Commission.
The commission said 22,214 people were employed in public and private jobs in January 2016 in St. Mary, down from 23,401 in January 2015. The St. Mary unemployment rate — rose to 8.4 percent from 7.7 percent in the same period.
Statewide, private-sector employers lost 13,200 jobs from the January 2015 number, for a new total of 1,656,800. The mining and logging sector was responsible for most of the losses, showing 12,100 fewer jobs than in January 2015.
“The benchmarked data show that the decline in oil prices has had tremendous effects on the employment situation in our state,” said Ava Dejoie, executive director of the commission, in a press release.
Oil prices that were at more than $100 per barrel in 2014 slumped to near $30 a barrel last year.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said that in St. Mary Parish, energy employment peaked at 2,971, accounting for about one job in every eight in the parish, in November 2013. By September 2015, energy employment was at 2,138, a drop of 28 percent in 22 months.
The decline in oil and gas employment has sent ripples through the local economy. Declining sales tax revenues have led local governments to conserve.
As early as last May, Patterson’s city government implemented a 5 percent across-the-board spending reduction.
The St. Mary Parish School Board, which believes it will see at least a $4 million drop in tax collections this year, will consider a series of belt-tightening measures at 5 p.m. Monday, including the closure of J.A. Hernandez and M.D. Shannon elementary schools.