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Louisiana Private, Non-Farm Employment at All-Time High

The Louisiana Workforce Commission says the state in June set records for both private sector and total nonfarm employment, according to seasonally adjusted employment data released by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Private sector employment reached a record 1,635,600 in June, up 3,100 from May and an increase of 26,000 jobs over the year. Total nonfarm employment reached a new high of 1,970,700 in June, up 2,500 from May and an increase of 19,200 over the year.

The state’s June unemployment rate was 5.0 percent, well below the year-ago rate of 6.4 percent, and Louisiana was also below the national June rate of 6.1 percent, the seasonally adjusted data show.

Louisiana ranked second among the 17 states in the southern region where unemployment averaged 6.0 percent in June. Louisiana’s unemployment rate was the 15th best in the nation.

June was the 45th consecutive month Louisiana’s private sector grew on an over-the-year basis, according to a BLS survey of 6,000 Louisiana employers spread across industries and the state.

The five industry sectors that set the pace for June’s record-setting employment have been growing on an over-the-year basis for extended periods:

• Leisure and hospitality added 7,600 jobs over the year, and its unbroken streak of over-the-year growth dates back to September 2010;
• Professional and business services added 6,600 jobs over the year. It has had over-the-year growth every month since August 2011 with the lone exception of February of this year;
• Trade, transportation, and utilities added 5,400 jobs over the year, and its over-the-year growth streak dates back to October 2010;
• Construction added 4,800 jobs over the year, and has had over-the-year growth since January 2012;
• Education and health services added 4,100 jobs over the year, and it has grown on an over-the-year basis every month since October 2006.

Three industry sectors had over-the-year job losses in June: government, which lost 6,800 federal, state and local jobs; information was down 4,000; and mining and logging, which was down 800 over the year.

The information sector consists of publishing industries, motion picture and sound recording industries, telecommunications, broadcasting and related industries.

Louisiana’s civilian labor force grew over the year by 4,627 for a total of 2,106,539 in June, but declined by 1,092 from May. The civilian labor force is defined as the total number of employed people plus those who are looking for work, according to a separate BLS survey of 750 Louisiana households.

The number of people employed in Louisiana in June was 2,001,417, a decline of 2,952 from the previous month, but an increase of 34,157 over the year. The number of unemployed people was 105,122 in June, an increase of 1,860 from the previous month, but 29,530 fewer than in June 2013.

Source: LWC