By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

DALLAS – Louisiana in general and the River Parishes in particular have fared better than most other parts of the U.S. during the recessionary period, according to first quarter statistics recently released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

St. Charles and St. James parishes both reported weekly average wages exceeding $1,000. St. Charles’ average of $1,166 and St. James’ average of $1,007 each far surpassed the national average of $882 for similarly sized parishes and counties (those with employment below 75,000) in the U.S.

Catahoula Parish reported the lowest average weekly wage in Louisiana at $470.

St. John Parish’s weekly average was slightly below the national average at $842.

Furthermore, out of all 64 parishes in the state, all but seven had wages below the national average.

On the whole, employment in Louisiana was down slightly over the previous year, but the state’s decline was far slower than that of most other states. With employment down just 1.1 percent, Louisiana ranked behind only Alaska, which was the only state that posted growth for the period, the District of Columbia and North Dakota.

These figures reflect the period ending in March 2009 and are the latest statistics available.

Recent reports have indicated an end to the recession.