Jobless rate drops in River ParishesL’Observateur / September 13, 2000BATON ROUGE – Unemployment dropped across the board in the River Parishes during July, according to statistics just released by the Louisiana Department of Labor Secretary Garey Forster.
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, September 13, 2000
“A decrease in claims for unemployment benefits accompanied the decrease in unemployment rates in half the parishes in July,” Forster said.
In St. John the Baptist Parish, the jobless rate fell from 9.2 to 9.0 percentbetween June and July, higher than the July 1999 mark of 8.0 percent.In St. Charles Parish, unemployment improved from 6.8 to 6.4 percent,above the 5.4 percent mark for June 1999.In St. James Parish, unemployment dropped from 12.5 to 11.4 percent,much better than the July 1999 mark of 12.5 percent. However, it remainsthe highest in the New Orleans Metro area.
In the New Orleans metro area, including Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Bernard and St. Tammany parishes, the lowest jobless rate during July 2000 was 3.7 percent in St. Tammany, closely followed by Jefferson Parish’s 3.8percent.
The lowest jobless rate in Louisiana for July 2000 was marked in Lincoln Parish, which enjoyed a 2.6 percent mark. East Carroll Parish had the highestunemployment rate, with 14.5 percent, followed by Catahoula Parish, with11.6 percent. The statewide seasonally-adjusted rate for July 2000 was 4.5 percent,Forster said, up from the previous month’s 4.8 percent, but still below the 5percent rate from one year ago.
Forster noted, “The lower parish rates, and the parishes with the lower number of claims, were spread out across the state, reflecting positive employment news for Louisiana as a whole.”He added that 28 parishes either tied or set new record lows for the month of July.
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