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N.O Jobless Rate Lowest Among Largest U.S. Metro Areas
New Orleans CityBusiness Staff Reports
April 29, 2010
BATON ROUGE — The New Orleans area had the lowest unemployment rate among the nation’s largest metropolitan statistical areas for the second consecutive month, with Houma having the lowest rate among all areas nationwide, according to information released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The report also showed that all eight metro areas in Louisiana had unemployment rates that ranked among the 40 lowest in the country. All eight metro areas in the state have recorded decreases in the unemployment rate each month since January. Only 41 areas in the country saw unemployment rates drop in March.
The New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas were tied with the 25th lowest rate among all metro areas at 6 percent. Rounding out the state’s metro rankings was Monroe, tied for 36th at 6.6 percent.
With a 4.6 percent unemployment rate, the Houma area had the nation’s lowest unemployment rate among the 372 metro areas. Lafayette was tied for fourth with a 5 percent unemployment rate, and Alexandria, Lake Charles and Shreveport all tied for 19th at 5.8 percent.
“This is a very clear sign that our state is moving in the right direction,” said Curt Eysink, executive director of the Louisiana Workforce Commission. “As a state, our labor markets have been outperforming the nation and the South consistently, and these numbers show how our metro areas, where the vast majority of our population lives and works, are contributing and benefiting.”
Louisiana’s March seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 6.9 percent was tied for eighth-lowest in the nation and was second-lowest in the Southern region.•
