Louisiana added 3,700 nonfarm jobs from November to December, and the state Workforce Commission says its the only state to see an increase during the month. The state had 1.95 million nonfarm jobs in December, compared with 1.94 in December 2007. In metro Baton Rouge, the number of nonfarm jobs increased by 4,000 from December 2007 to last month, reaching 379,500. New Orleans was the only other city to add more jobs than the Capital Region. Despite the increase in jobs, unemployment went up statewide to 5.9%. A year earlier, the rate was 4% and unemployment was 5.3% in November. Those rates are still below the national rate of 7.2% in December. Tim Barfield, executive director of the Workforce Commission, says the increase of jobs is a good sign for Louisiana, and shows that there are still opportunities, despite the national recession.
La. only state to add jobs in December
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