BY JOHN H. WALKER

L’Observateur

October unemployment figures released by LAWorks, the state employment service, confirms what everyone in the River Parishes already knew — there’s work if you want it.

Unemployment in St. John, St. Charles and St. James parishes was down compared to September numbers.

In St. John there was 22,380 people working and 1,480 unemployed for a rate of 5.9 percent. That compares favorably to September’s 7.4 percent, when there was 242 fewer people working but 373 more out of work.

In St. Charles, there were 26,350 people working and 1,324 out of work for a rate of 4.8 percent. In September, there was 26,066 working and 1,436 out of work for a rate of 5.2 percent.

The biggest improvement came in St. James, which saw a drop from 10.5 percent to 8.2 percent. In October there were 8,204 people working and 736 out of work while there were 8,144 and 951 in September.

The state’s lowest unemployment rate was in Lafayette Parish at 3.6 percent. Next was Lafourche at 3.8 percent.

The state’s highest unemployment rate was in north Louisiana’s East Carroll Parish, which recorded a rate of 10.9 percent.