Nancy Rollins
February 1, 2008Grand Isle voters to elect mayor
February 6, 2008The Houma-Thibodaux Metro-politan Area still has the lowest unemployment rate of all metropolitan areas in the state at 2.5 percent in December-followed closely by Lafayette at 2.6 percent – but the rate for Houma-Thibodaux increased three-tenths of a percentage point from November.
The only other parish in Louisiana besides Lafourche, Terrebonne and Lafayette to have an unemployment rate below three percent was Iberia Parish at 2.9.
St. Mary Parish’s unemployment rate rose two-fifths of a percentage point to 3.5 percent from November to December.
The number of employed in Houma-Thibodaux dropped by 390 persons, but the figure remains over the 100,000 at 100,245.
Concurrently, the number of unemployed people seeking work in Houma-Thibodaux increased by 264 from November.
The unemployment rate for Houma-Thibodaux has been unsteady in recent months, dipping to 2.0 percent in October after rising to 2.9 percent in September.
The total number of nonfarm jobs (a category which excludes the self-employed, unpaid family workers, domestics and agricultural workers) in December for Houma-Thibodaux was 96,500, an increase of 200 from November. The figure had been 95,100 in August and 93,000 in September 2006.
The jobs figure includes 14,400 people employed in government. The number of people in the area working service jobs in the private sector is 72,700, with 23,200 in the trade, transportation and utilities sector, 10,800 in retail trade and 7,400 in leisure and hospitality.
Statewide, the unemployment rate in December rose seven percentage points to 4.2 percent from November. Louisiana had 1,929,100 nonfarm jobs, with the largest numbers working in the trade, transportation and utilities; government and health services sectors.
