Share This:

Louisiana Continues to See Record Low Unemployment, Workforce Commission Begins Offering Free Online Courses

Louisiana – The Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) reported on September 16, 2022, that data issued by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that Louisiana’s August 2022 seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 3.5 percent. This is a new low for the rate, and it is the third month in a row that Louisiana has set a new low.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Louisiana fell 0.2 percentage points from July 2022 and 1.7 percentage points from August 2021. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has fallen for 18 straight months and has not increased month over month since April 2020.

In the series’ history, the state achieved a record for the lowest number of unemployed. The number of seasonally adjusted unemployed in August 2022 is expected to be 73,909, a decrease of 2,967 from the previous record of 76,876 set in July. In August 2021, the number of seasonally adjusted unemployed people fell by 32,804.

“With unemployment rates continuing to fall and employment continuing to grow, Louisiana shows its commitment to putting people back to work,” said Louisiana Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Cates. “Programs like Tech Ready Louisiana offered thru the LWC can give employees the skills needed to drive their careers further.”

To assist in preparing the state’s workforce for future occupations, LWC established “Tech Ready Louisiana,” a program that would provide free online learning to thousands of people across the state. LWC is collaborating with Coursera to provide Louisians with access to thousands of courses designed to help people build new skills and improve their career preparation. Residents must be 18 or older and have or establish a HiRE account to register for “Tech Ready Louisiana.” Click here to discover more about Coursera and the courses they offer.

Since July 2022, the number of seasonally adjusted employed people has fallen by 5,449, from 2,027,639 in July 2022 to 2,022,190 in August 2022. Despite the loss, the figure for this month is the tenth highest in the series’ history. The number of seasonally adjusted employed people increased by 68,481 from August 2021 to August 2022.

The labor force participation rate, which measures those aged 16 to 64 who are working or seeking employment, was 58.7 percent in August, a 0.2 percentage point fall from July. The August 2022 rate, on the other hand, increased by 0.9 percentage points from August 2021.

The state’s seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment for August 2022 is 1,931,000, up 7,100 from the revised July 2022 estimate of 1,923,900. Seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment increased by 45,900 jobs in August 2021 compared to August 2021. The series is at its greatest employment level since March 2020, with 17 consecutive months of year-over-year growth. In addition, the series has added jobs in 10 of the last 11 months.

The seasonally adjusted private sector employment in Louisiana for August 2022 is 1,619,700, an increase of 4,300 jobs from the revised estimate of 1,615,400 jobs in July 2022. Seasonally adjusted private sector employment grew by 49,800 jobs in August 2021 compared to August 2021. For 11 consecutive months, the series added employment over the month, and for 17 consecutive months, it added jobs over the year.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Louisiana has also decreased. The rate for August 2022 is 3.8 percent. This is the series’ lowest non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for August.

The rate is 0.8 percentage points lower than the revised July 2022 not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 4.6 percent. The rate is 1.8 percentage points lower than the August 2021 rate of 5.6 percent.

Follow this link to report a typo or other issue.