Eric John (Easy E) Matherne
June 16, 2009June 18
June 18, 2009The Houma-Thibodaux area had the lowest unemployment rate of all metropolitan areas in Louisiana during April and was tied with Ames, Iowa, among all metro areas in the country for the second lowest unemployment rate, according to data released by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
St. Mary Parish’s rate was 6 percent in April.
Lafourche Parish had the lowest unemployment rate in the state during April at 3.5 percent, followed by Terrebonne with 3.7.
The two were the only parishes in Louisiana to be below 4 percent. St. Tammany and Lafayette parishes were at 4.1 percent. The state’s unemployment rate was 5.7 percent, ninth lowest in the country.
Information provided by the Louisiana Workforce Commis-sion indicates that Houma-Thibodaux also tied for the fourth largest increase in employment in the country from April 2008 to the same month in 2009, gaining 1,400 jobs. The number of jobs in the Houma-Thibodaux area rose from 96,800 to 98,200.
According to the Louisiana Manufacturers Register, employment increased 2.3 percent in the area over the same period. The Houma area has the state’s fifth-highest number of jobs in manufacturing employment with 8,840.
The trade, transportation and utilities sector in Houma-Thibodaux provided 25,000 jobs, followed by government with 14,300. The retail trade sector had 10,800 jobs.
Mining and logging and their support services provided 12,500 jobs in April, a slight decrease from the year before.
Houma-Thibodaux had a total of 101,709 people employed in April.
Employment in the oil and gas industry in Louisiana increased 24 percent from April 2008 to April 2009, the Louisiana Manufacturers Register report stated, though the state lost 3,385 industrial jobs and 101 manufacturers.
Baton Rouge has the highest number of industrial workers in the state with 15,834, followed by New Orleans with 11,457.
The New Orleans metropolitan area had the lowest unemployment rate in the country among large metro areas for the second month in a row.
